Getting Into You
by BigUnknownKingdom
Summary: AU set in ASZ, where Rick and Michonne never meet at the prison but his road to Alexandria was relatively the same. Three years after becoming Alexandria's leader, he and Michonne finally cross paths.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Decided to write a story and include a specific character still alive. Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the characters, just the one's I make up! :)**

Three weeks on the road. It had originally been planned as a two week mission, but circumstances had forced the small recruitment group to delay their return to Alexandria. Carl Grimes, now seventeen and more experienced than even some of his older companions, was eager to return home. It was a long time to be separated from his father and sister, who he knew worried about him. It was a long time to be separated from Enid, who had left on her own expedition with Aaron and Tara, a week prior to his departure. Apart from Jesus and Rosita, his present company was not as interesting as Enid's and he always loved listening to the stories she told about Tara's funny exploits. For now, he just hunkered down at the back of the van and ignored the conversation between Eric and a new person, Thomas, they had picked up a couple of days ago. The man was asking a lot of banal questions about Alexandria and Carl had had enough of pretending to be interested. Instead, he just read a book he had found in the lap of a walker he had discovered bedridden when they had raided a hospice. It might be interesting, he had explained to a skeptical Ron Anderson, who questioned his choice of _Their Eyes Were Watching God_ , when a copy of _2_ _0,000 Leagues Under the Sea_ was right on the table close by. Besides, he reasoned, the cover's better. Ron snorted and continued clearing rooms, leaving Carl to admire the sad yet comforting face on the book. The more he read, the more he was satisfied with his choice.

"Damn, the rain's coming down harder," Jesus observed, turning the windshield wipers to their maximum.

"We've got another day before we get to Alexandria," Rosita mused, squinting out her own window to no avail. They saw flashes of lightning up ahead and heard the early rumbles of the storm. "Perhaps we should pull over," she suggested.

"Not on this road," Jesus retorted, pointing to the map in her lap. "Heath said a megaherd was making its way through here. We need to get past the I-99 intersection."

Rosita examined the map and shook her head. "Jesus, if we get stuck on this road-"

"We'll be fine."

Rosita bristled at his interjection but said nothing as they road further into the storm. She watched the lightning strike in the distance and reached over to take Jesus' hand. "Paul, we need to get off this road," she insisted vehemently. "Pull over."

"It's fine."

She shot him an incredulous look, unconvinced of his statement. The others had fallen silent as the rain fell against the side of the van, increasing from a small smattering to a roaring crescendo as another round of lightning lit up the suddenly dark afternoon sky.

"Paul," Rosita growled, pointing to the windshield. "We need to pull over. Now."

"Rosita we… Shit!"

Those in the back were thrown around by Jesus' swerving brake. The van shuddered to a stop, almost skidding off the road as they narrowly avoided crashing into a fallen tree. Doing so, however, caused them to strike a downed electrical tower, shattering the windshield and loudly blowing out one of the tires.

"Fuck," Rosita swore as she looked behind her to check the other passengers. "You alright Eric?"

The man nodded and offered a faint smile as he peered out the front through the torrential rain. "Peachy… Must have been struck by lightning."

"Or a flood," Rosita countered, wiping rain and blood from her face, wincing at the tiny pieces of glass that had struck her. Beyond the felled tree, they could see water blanketing the highway, leaving little doubt in her mind that they should have stopped earlier. Carl listened to her, Jesus, and Eric bicker over what to do next while he looked out the back window. It took a moment, but from the other side of the highway he could see them sliding down the hills that lined the asphalt. At first it was just a couple, sloshing through rising water, mud, and broken branches to get stuck at the bottom, submerged. But then Carl saw more appear, tumbling out of the forest and lurching through the rain as they began to pile up and climb on top of each other, motivated by some unknown to keep moving forward.

"Rosita! Jesus!" Carl called urgently, tucking his book into his backpack and pulling out a gun. "Heath was right about that megaherd."

Ron and Elena Davos, another teenager who now resided at Alexandria with her parents and kid brother, shoved their way to the back to see what Carl was motioning to. Elena muttered a swift curse in Spanish under her breath before she turned to Rosita.

"We need to move."

Jesus attempted to put the van in reverse but but the busted tire screeched, attracting more attention.

"You're making it worse!" Elena yelled over the din of the rain. "They're heading this way!"

Eric saw them moving into the median and banged on the van. "Paul, get out!" He shouted. "We can't stay here!"

"Why not?!" Ron demanded. "Can't we just stay quiet in the van?!"

Rosita was grabbing her stuff out of the passenger seat, shaking her head at him. "No we cannot stay here! Heath said the heard was more than one thousand! One pin drop and we're fucked! They'll tear that van apart!"

"But-"

"Anderson, you want to hunker down in that van for a few hours and hope a couple thousand walkers don't notice you, especially with a busted windshield, you can stay, the rest of you this way!" She rolled up the map and tucked it into her pocket. "There's a side road through these woods that leads to a small town. It's probably deserted, but there may be some places to hide."

There was little time to argue as the walkers drew closer, their collective noise giving the storm around them a run for its money.

"Let's move!" Jesus ordered as Carl shoved Ron away from the van, following after Rosita as she led the way to the woods. "Keep your eyes open! Knives out!"

"Don't use your guns unless absolutely necessary," Eric advised as they sloshed up the muddy incline, looking behind them every once in a while to keep track of the growing herd on the highway. The walkers were plinkoing their way past cars and trucks that were abandoned on the roads, but they were quickly making their way towards the Alexandrians' van, unencumbered by the storm.

"Hey! Hurry up!" Elena hissed at a lagging Ron once they reached the tree line. They moved through the trees at a sluggish pace, pausing every once in a while when the lightning flashed to illuminate their way. They were accosted a couple of times by some stray walkers, but they struggled forward, the threatening sound of thousands of walkers taking up their rear.

"Faster!" Rosita ordered over the thunder when they finally reached the side road that paralleled the highway, giving them a moment's respite from the mud and brush they had trudged through. Carl could see how anxious his friends were and he tried to quell his own panic as they ran down the road towards the town Rosita had spoken of. The detour down asphalt provided them with a good two hundred meters of distance from the herd, which was now definitely following them.

They made it to the small boarded up town and instantly began banging on doors, hoping to find one that was open. The area looked like it had not been touched for years, even by looters, which was rare. The streets had very few cars on them and none of the storefronts were damaged. In fact, a lot of them looked like they had been locked up tight from the outside and the town evacuated at the same time.

"Jesus!" Thomas yelped when several walkers appeared at the front of a toy store, growling and clawing at the glass as the man backed away into the rain. "Most of these places got walkers in 'em!"

"We need to keep moving!" Rosita shouted as Jesus led the way down the street. A few walkers shambled out from behind a parked car, but Carl and Elena took care of it while Ron and Eric continued to try other doors. Jesus moved onto the main street and caught sight of a car with the taillights on outside of what looked to be a hardware store. Suspicious, he ran over to check it out, pulling out his gun in case someone was inside. He came up from behind and peered through the side window. The keys were in the ignition, but it was empty. Jesus looked around, but in the downpour, it was impossible to tell if someone else was there, but he could not imagine that whoever left it running was not close by. Unfortunately for the owner, this was a lose-lose situation and he had people he needed to get to safety.

"Hey!" Jesus waved at them from down the block, motioning towards the car he had found. While the others hurried after him, Carl hung back when a whinny caught his attention. He caught sight of something moving through the rain behind a two-story boutique and snuck back to see a horse tied to pipe with two mutilated walkers on either side, also chained to the pipe. In his five years living in the apocalypse, he had never seen such a bizarre sight. The blue roan quarter horse was chomping at its bit and tugging at its reins as it stood soaked between two armless, mouthless walkers, who were also tugging on their chains, the storm agitating them all as lightning struck close by.

"What the hell..."

He froze when the barrel of a gun pressed against his back.

"Don't move, don't say a word," ordered a boy's voice, causing Carl to frown and glance over his shoulder to see a child in a blue poncho, no more than nine or ten, holding up his gun with both hands. "I said don't move!"

Carl wiped the rain out of his eyes and looked around, trying to figure out where the child had come from. "How old are you?"

"That's not important," the boy countered, removing the hood of the poncho, revealing shoulder length dreadlocks and bright brown eyes. He shifted the gun into one hand and quickly patted Carl down, finding the Colt Python he kept on his hip. The boy grabbed it and tucked it into his belt, but let Carl keep his backpack. "Your friends are around the corner and a herd is coming. You need to leave."

If a horde of walkers were not heading his way during a massive storm, there was would have been something slightly amusing about being accosted by a child with a gun.

"I want my gun back," Carl requested and the boy shook his head, keeping his weapon trained on the teenager while he moved around him towards the agitated horse and chained walkers.

"You just need to get to your friends. They've stolen one of my cars and they're waiting for you down the street. You need to get there quickly," the boy insisted urgently and Carl could tell that while suspicious, he was also genuinely trying to get Carl to flee to safety. "You have five minutes before herd gets here!" Using one of the walkers, the boy managed to climb up onto the horse, backing it up and turning it around as he kept an eye on their surroundings. "Please, just go!" He pointed down the road. "That way!"

Carl could hear the growling and knew he did not have time to argue with the mysterious rider. Gulping in some air, he moved back to the front of the store. "I want my gun back!"

The boy on the horse laughed and shook his head. "No take backs," he yelled, spurring the large beast to take off down the alley behind the buildings. Carl watched him for a moment before he ran off to catch up with his friends.

* * *

"Where's Carl?!" Rosita demanded after counting the group huddled around the car Jesus had found. "Ron! Where is he?!"

"They're coming!" Elena interrupted, pointing down the road. When the lightning flashed once again, they could all see small groups of walkers making their way out of the side streets onto the main drag they were on. "We need to go!"

Eric opened the doors and motioned for Elena to get in. "CARL!" He screamed as the young lady scrambled out of the rain. "CARL!"

Jesus came around to Rosita, looking around with wide eyes as he did. "We need to get out now. Someone left this car running for a reason and they'll be back soon."

Ron pulled out his gun as the walkers moved closer and Rosita held up her hand.

"Do not fire that gun!" She screamed. "They are not that close and we don't have enough ammunition to fend them all off!"

"Eric!"

They all turned to see Carl running up the street, waving at them to get their attention. Jesus sighed in relief and motioned to the car.

"Okay, everyone else get in, we need to be ready to leave when he gets here," the man ordered. Eric was about to grab Ron to push him in when the sudden appearance of a horse from behind the hardware store frightened them all. The rider was difficult to see through the rain, but held up a gun at them before turning to see the herd ambling down the wet road towards them.

"Ron, wait!" Thomas warned just before the teenager raised his gun and shot at the horse in a panic. The horse reared up on its haunches, nearly throwing the rider before it took off down the road, away from them and the herd. In an attempt to stop Ron, who was still wildly firing his gun, the new arrival got clipped by a bullet and fell to the ground, howling in pain.

"STOP!" Rosita cried, striking the boy in the face with the butt of her machete, causing him to drop his gun in the street. She and Eric grabbed Thomas and helped him into the car, Eric staying in the back with him to stop the bleeding while Jesus looked around urgently.

"Where's Car? I don't see him anymore!"

"Oh my God! Look!" Elena pointed frantically from the back of the car. Rosita, Jesus, and Ron turned to see Carl lying in the street, barely visible in the rain. They could not tell if he was moving.

"CARL!" Rosita screamed, taking off for the young man. "Carl!"

"Rosita, wait!" Jesus called, running to grab her, pointing to a large group of walkers that began to cut off their path to Carl.

"Jesus! The road!" Eric yelled, splitting their attention between their fallen friend and the road they needed to take to get out of town. A couple of walkers were moving onto it, but it was evidently clear that they only had a couple of minutes before they would be trapped.

Jesus and Rosita exchanged desperate glances and Rosita pulled out her gun. "Paul, we cannot leave him… Paul," she gasped, but the path to Carl was now swarming with walkers.

"Oh my God," Jesus exhaled. "No…."

"Rosita! We need to leave!" Elena sobbed, pulling out her gun and firing on a walker wandered closer to the others. "Jesus! Rosita!"

Jesus hesitated while Rosita grabbed his arm, knowing they had to leave. "Paul! Paul!"

The man flinched and then turned to the car, sprinting back to the driver's seat. Rosita shoved Ron into the back and dove into the front, choking back a sob as Jesus gunned the engine and sped off down the road, striking a few walkers as they swerved across the wet pavement and sped out of the infested town.

* * *

The rain was pounding in Carl's face as he lay on the ground in agony. A stray bullet from Ron's gun had struck him in the shoulder and the pain paralyzed him. Above the roar of the rain, he could hear the faint growling of incoming walkers and his heart raced faster at the thought of being consumed in the street, away from home.

"Help," he rasped before crying out as searing pain shot from his shoulder across his chest. Squeezing his eyes shut, he attempted to move, but it hurt too much. The snarls drew closer and he immediately wished he had his gun. He did not want to be ripped apart. He had seen too many friends die that way.

Carl flinched when a horse suddenly appeared above him, snorting angrily and stomping around aggressively as the boy dismounted and fell to his side.

"Hey! Can you move?!" The boy shouted anxiously, tugging at his backpack to remove it. At first Carl assumed the child was just taking advantage of the moment and robbing a wounded stranger, but then the boy grabbed Carl's arms and tried to get him up to his feet. The only problem was that the boy was too small to lift the teenager off of the ground and accidentally dropped Carl on his wounded side. "Sorry!" He apologized as Carl released a sob. He looked around and saw their opening slowly disappearing. "We need to leave… Mom! Mom!"

The abrupt appearance of a second rider startled Carl as the person maneuvered their horse next to the boy's. "Andre!" She barked. "Is he bit?!"

"Help me, Mom!" The boy retorted angrily, still trying to get Carl off the ground. His mother's face twitched as she shook her head.

"IS HE BIT?!" She demanded and he shook his head.

"He's been shot! Mom, please!" He pleaded and she dismounted, grabbing Carl's good side and lifting him up to his feet.

"Get on your horse!" She ordered urgently, rushing Carl to the quarter horse as the child climbed back on. "This is going to hurt," she warned the young white teen before she unceremoniously deadlifted him, relying on her son to help pull him up behind him on the horse. She scooped up the forgotten backpack and got back on her mount, pointing straight at her son. "Andre, I swear if he starts to fall, you let him. You are not going to die for that boy, understood?!"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Okay, let's go!" She yelled, leading them away from the herd.

* * *

Jesus pulled the car to a stop along the road and slammed his fists against the wheel.

"Damn it!" He bellowed angrily. "FUCK!"

"Paul," Rosita whispered, catching the frightened look on Elena's face as tears continued to stream down the young woman's face. She had not stopped crying since they had left the town. Thomas was still bleeding from his leg wound and Rosita reached out to touch her friend's shoulder. "We need to get back to Alexandria..."

Jesus shook his head. "What are we going to tell Rick?" He responded quietly so that only she could hear him. "We should have done something."

"We can't stop here, that herd is right behind us," Ron snapped from the back. "Let's go!"

Eric and Rosita exchanged angry looks while Jesus whirled around in his seat.

"What did you just say?"

Ron hesitated under the man's gaze but continued. "Carl fell, there's nothing-"

"PAUL!" Rosita screamed as the man shoved open the front door and stormed around the car, yanking open Ron's door and dragging the young man out into the raging storm. "PAUL!"

"You little shit!" Jesus snarled, slamming the boy against car, glaring at him through the rain. "YOU got him killed! You fired that gun and shot him!"

"That person on the horse-"

"WAS RUNNING AWAY!" Jesus yelled as Rosita got out of the car, watching the interaction warily. "You shot at someone who was retreating and now Thomas is wounded and Carl is dead!"

"It wasn't my fault," Ron protested frantically and Rosita grabbed Jesus before he could make another move.

"Paul, no," she warned, squinting around to ensure no walkers snuck up on them. "We need to get out of here... Thomas is hurt and he needs medical attention. We can't do that here."

Jesus slowly backed away from Ron, eyes still seething with rage. He caught the worried look on Rosita's face and shook his head in frustration and pain at the loss they had just experienced.

"Fuck," he growled, moving back to the driver's seat.

Rosita eyed Ron with disgust and opened his door. "Get in the car," she snapped, rolling her eyes when he flinched at the crack of lightning. "When we get back to Alexandria, we're all going to have to live with what happened back there, but you..." She leaned in to him. "You are going to explain to Rick how your useless, panicky trigger finger got his son killed."

She slammed the door in his face and took a moment to take a deep breath, thankful for the rain to cover up her own tears. Even after her accusing words, she felt completely responsible for what had happened to Carl and it broke her heart at the mere image of him disappearing behind the wall of walkers. She released a cry of frustration and kicked the side of the car before she got back into the car.

"Let's go," she breathed, doing everything in her power not to kill the young man behind her.

In the back, Ron shifted around uncomfortably. "I didn't kill Carl," he asserted pathetically and Elena reached around and punched him, spitting at his face.

"Puta," she sneered. "Shut the fuck up!" Eric held her back, motioning to the groaning Thomas, who she was leaning over. She eased up a bit, but continued to glare daggers at the other teen in the car. "I hope we make it back to Alexandria, 'cause if Rick doesn't kill you, I'm going to, you fucktwat!

Rosita glanced over at Jesus and even in their grief they could not help but exchange a small thankful smile about the young woman they had insisted on bringing back to Alexandria a couple of years back.

* * *

Michonne looked up from the book she was reading to see her son enter the small nurse's office they were keeping Carl in. Andre offered her some venison jerky while he sat down in one of the old chairs and chewed on his own dinner.

"How is he?" The boy asked and Michonne shrugged, closing the book and resting it on the desk before she took her son's offering.

"He'll live," she responded, watching him swivel around in the chair, eyeing the backpack on the desk that his mother had clearly rooted around in. "It was a through and through. He's resting."

"Okay," Andre mumbled, chewing on his meal as he poked around in the bag. "I'm sorry."

Michonne looked up from her jerky and tilted her head to the side questioningly. "For what?"

"For leaving the car running," he replied repentantly and she smiled. Ever since they had returned home, she could see that he was beating himself up over what had happened back in town.

Like any outing, they had had a concrete plan of how to get in and out of that little town. They would take a car and two horses, tying up the horses in strategic spots in the area, masked by a few mutilated walkers to mask the horses while Andre and his mother moved from storefront to storefront, clearing slowly and searching for anything useful. She had left Andre with the car while she tied up the horses and in a rush to beat the worst of the storm and the incoming herd, he had left the car running. She understood his reasoning and ultimately, it was not so much a problem, since they still had the two horses.

"I'm just glad your safe," she whispered, watching him glance over at the little examination room the teen was sleeping in. "Are you worried about him?"

Andre shrugged, eyeing the Colt Python resting nearby. "Just wondering why his friends left him behind..."

Michonne sighed and leaned back in her chair. Unlike her son, she had seen the events that led to Carl being shot play out and as horrible as it was, she understood why it had happened. "It looks like they thought he was dead," she informed him and he frowned.

"Because he'd been shot?" He asked worriedly and she shook his head.

"They couldn't get to him and the walkers were closing in..." She caught her son's eyes and she leaned forward. "We need to be careful."

"I know."

Michonne nodded and reached out for the book she had been reading. "Good, because I don't want you ever getting shot like that," she muttered.

They were quiet for a minute as Andre stood up, set down his food, and peered into the examination room, eyeing the teen before he turned to watch his mother read. "You think his family is waiting for him?" He asked solemnly and she looked up at him, biting her lip at the seriousness in the eight-year-old's eyes. He had always been such a perceptive child and even now, having lived five years in this hellish post-world, she still admired how sensitive he was to others.

"I'm sure they are," she replied reassuringly, offering him a faint smile. He kicked at the dirty floor and shoved his hands in his pockets, lowering his eyes to the ground. His dreadlocks fell forward, covering his face and hiding his expression from her.

"If they're still alive," he added and her face fell. She watched him for a moment before she returned to her book.

"Yeah, Andre," she murmured. "If his family is still alive..." She motioned to the desk where his food lay. "Finish your jerky and go get some rest. I'll come get you when it's your shift."

Andre's face twisted but he refused to protest. Instead, he grabbed his dinner and headed out the door.

"I love you," she called over her shoulder and he smiled.

"I love you too, mom."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So I realized that some of my math wasn't adding up and then I realized it was an AU, so I could just force the math to add up. :) So Carl has been aged up a bit. He started the apocalypse at the ripe old age of 12, rather than the 9-10 Carl from the show. Other than that, everything else is pretty similar. Sorry, I just felt the need to clarify that.**

 **Also, to clarify, the character I was talking about before was Andre.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The room was dark when Carl woke up. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust and get his bearings while he tried to remember what had happened as the pain in his shoulder quickly returned with his shifting. Groaning loudly, he attempted once again to sit up, but to no avail as the searing sensation seemed to expand.

"Don't move, you're gonna pull out your stitches."

The main light turned on and he blinked rapidly, squinting to see a beautiful woman with dreadlocks standing at the door, called to action by his moaning. She eyed him warily, but entered, dragging an office chair with a first aid kit behind her. She had some sort of blade strapped to her back and a revolver on her hip. Something told him she was probably carrying more weapons.

"We used up some supplies fixing up your shoulder, so I would appreciate it if you didn't rip them out because you can't lie still," she whispered, examining him quickly as he gazed up at her in confusion.

"Where am I?" He asked hoarsely, wincing as the movement hurt his bare chest.

Michonne reached into her kit and offered him a canteen. She watched him drink water for a couple of moments before she sighed and sat back in the chair. "What's your name?"

He coughed and looked at her, trying just as hard to figure her out as she was to identify if he was a threat. "I... um... I'm Carl," he responded, looking around the small room. "Where am I?"

Smiling, Michonne began rummaging through the kit and took out some gauze. She stood up and after sending him a very pointed look about trying something, she reached out to redress his shoulder. "You're in school, Carl."

"School?"

"Yes... Sorry," she apologized when he winced at the pressure she applied to his wound. "Looks like your stitches are still in tact..." She taped some gauze over the stitches and sat back down. "You're going to be sore for a while."

"This isn't the first time I've been shot," he retorted without thinking and she gazed up at him on the examination table. For a moment, he saw sadness flit across her face before her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Surviving five years of this, I suppose it's not," she murmured, catching the realization on his face.

"I... I was with some people," he gasped and she shook her head.

"They're not here."

An instantaneous panic set in as Carl struggled to recall what had happened and how he had landed here. Who had shot him?

"I... what happened? Where are my friends?" He started, reaching up for his shoulder. Realizing what was happening, she reached out and held up a hand to prevent him from hurting himself.

"They're not here," she muttered, silently hoping he would not pull his stitches. It was difficult enough to put them in the first time.

"But the town-"

"They're fine," she informed him before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Well, they were fine, when they left the town... who knows, with the storm and that herd..."

Carl once again attempted to move and Michonne huffed in frustration, snatching his hands to stop him.

"I told you not to move," she snapped, but she could see the distress in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

"My friends," he managed, his breathing short and shallow as his chest constricted painfully. Michonne was taken aback by the urgency and strain he was exerting and immediately realized her son had made an interesting choice in who he had saved. "I need to know-"

"Carl, you're not going anywhere," she whispered soothingly, standing up to help him into a sitting position. She placed a hand on his chest, forcing him to look at her as she tried to calm him down. "Hey, listen, listen!" She snapped assertively. "If you bleed out, you will never see your friends, so you need to _stop moving_." Tilting her head to the side, she bit her lip and inhaled quickly. "Please... you're not in any danger here... you're safe. Just calm down..."

"Mom?"

They both turned to see Andre standing by the door, watching Carl with concern scrawled all over his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly and for some reason that caused the teenager to relax. She felt his chest ease and his breathing slow as he stared at the young, worried boy and she was thankful for her son's appearance.

"Slow, deep breaths," she coached, handing him the forgotten canteen. "Here, drink some more..."

Michonne and Andre waited a couple of minutes, giving Carl a chance to collect himself and come back from the initial panic attack. Michonne bit her lip when she saw him shaking in pain, his skin pale and sweaty, and she wished she had painkillers. While not much, she would give anything for a Tylonol right now.

"You're safe here," Andre piped up as Michonne helped Carl lie back down. He swiftly walked into the room, sitting down as if to start a conversation. "Where are you from?"

Michonne snorted and grabbed a blanket, pulling it over the teen as his eyes closed. "Andre, he's not answering your questions right now," she muttered, watching as Carl slowly, rather reluctantly fell back to sleep. "Let's let him rest."

"But-"

"Andre," she interjected, detecting the eagerness in her son's voice. It had been a while since they had had contact with people, particularly young people closer to his age, and she understood Andre's desire to talk with the older boy. But it was clear that Carl was not yet well enough to deal with the demanding questions of a curious eight year old boy. "You can take the rest of the watch," she relented when she saw his shoulders fall in defeat. "But let him sleep. If he wakes up before I get back, call me."

"Yes ma'am," Andre affirmed, following her out into the main office as she turned the light back off, leaving the nurse's office bathed in darkness save for the solitary desk lamp in the corner. Andre took off his katana and rested it on his lap while he pulled out the book he had been reading. It was actually Carl's book that he had found in the teen's backpack.

"Find any new words?"Michonne asked as she prepared to leave and he shrugged.

"A couple," he mumbled dejectedly and she smiled at his sudden moodiness. She felt bad about cutting off his attempts to talk to Carl and decided to make it up to him.

"Well, if you can find ten words before Carl wakes up, I'll make mac and cheese for dinner," she promised and he grinned.

"Okay!"

* * *

It took a full day of nonstop top speed driving for Jesus and the group to make it back to Alexandria. They were delayed only by a small group of walkers that had wandered onto the road, but as they neared the gates, the dread of having to inform Rick Grimes about what had happened to his son began to stifle the air in the car. Before they had departed three weeks earlier, Rick had been wary of even letting Carl leave for such a long period of time. It was the longest they had been apart from one another since the apocalypse had started. Carl had gone out on little week-long excursions before, but due to the destination and requirements of this particular mission, Jesus had insisted on it being two weeks at least. Rick had reluctantly let Carl go but making it very clear that Jesus and Rosita ensure the young man return in one living, breathing piece.

Sasha was at the gate that day and she waved eagerly when the group drove up, flashing their lights. Behind them, the storm clouds were quickly coming towards the community, bringing the rain and floods with it.

"Abe, get the gate," she shouted. "Jesus and Rosita are back."

Abraham yanked the gates open quickly and motioned the car through, frowning when he caught the grim expressions on his friends faces as they drove by. He closed the gate behind them as a couple of other Alexandrians approached the car excitedly and a few others ran to get Elena's parents.

"There you are," Abraham greeted as Jesus slowly got out of the car. "We thought-"

Rosita got out quickly on her side and ran to the back door, yanking it open and dragging Ron out under protest. "Shut up!" She hissed, pushing him to the side as she helped Eric pull Thomas out of the back. The man was no longer conscious at this point and his sweaty skin was pale and cold. "Abraham," she requested and he jumped in immediately, helping carry Thomas to the infirmary while Sasha approached her friend.

"What happened? Was he bit?" She asked worriedly and Rosita shook her head while a teary faced Elena climbed out. Sasha peered into the empty car and her her heart caught him in her throat as her stomach twisted painfully. "Where…where's Carl?"

"Elena!"

They turned to see Alex and Raquel Davis running up to greet their daughter. The moment her mother grabbed her into an embrace, Elena once again broke down into tears while Sasha looked between Jesus and Rosita for verbal confirmation.

"Where's Rick?" Jesus asked, eyes fixed on Ron. The teen was squirming in the corner, looking for a way to slip away unnoticed, but he knew he was being watched.

"Oh my God," Sasha gasped. "Rosita-"

Rosita took Sasha's hand and gave it a quick squeeze before she grabbed her bag and followed Jesus towards the Grimes house.

"We need to talk with Rick first," she explained and Sasha hurried after them.

"Rick's not here," she informed them through a choked voice. "He… He's at the Hilltop with Judith… Oh my God, what happened?"

Jesus pointed to Ron, who flinched and averted his eyes. "Ask him," he growled. "He's the one who shot him."

* * *

"I thought you and Maggie had a meeting today," Glenn mused as he and Rick followed their tiny children down the trail from the Hilltop Manor to the makeshift farm to see the ducks. Hershel Jr., only two now, waddled to keep up with his four year old companion as she determinedly led the way.

"She's meeting with Ezekiel right now," Rick grumbled, sticking his hands in his pockets as he watched Judith slow down to give Hershel a chance to catch up. "I thought I'd just catch up with her after they were done."

Glenn shot his friend an incredulous look. "You're not still upset with him over Carol, are you?"

"No," Rick lied and Glenn chuckled.

"Rick, you know she and Morgan-"

"I know," the man muttered irritability, prompting Glen to frown.

"Then why are you mad at Ezekiel?"

Rick shrugged, knowing his reasoning was lousy and that objectively Ezekiel was not to blame for what had happened. Rick just needed someone to direct his frustration at and the leader of the Kingdom was an easy scapegoat as their relationship had never been easy to begin with.

"I just miss her, that's all," he admitted. "Ezekiel keeps poaching my family."

Glenn snorted and patted the man on the back, understanding what he meant. "You gotta let that one go, Rick," he suggested. "Besides, you still have Rosita, Sasha, Abraham, and Eugene. Plus, I hear Tara and Daryl are planning on going back, so you should be just fine."

Rick knew Glenn was right, but he still had no interest in going to talk with the man who called himself King. It was an act that wore thin for him long ago.

"Hershel, stop!" Glenn called, jogging ahead to scoop the child up before he could fall down. Rick strode over and watched his friend fix his son's shoes and Rick could not help but think of Carl. His group should have been back a few days ago, but Rick was also trying not to think about it. He had been hesitant to let Carl go for such a long mission so far away from home, but he knew he could not stop him. Now, he just hoped they were experiencing some delays and that was it.

"Thinking about Carl?" Glenn inquired, catching the look in Rick's eyes as he stared at Hershel.

Rick blinked and then nodded, continuing down the way to catch up with Judith. "He should have been back by now," he whispered, the concern written all over his face, and Glenn offered a hopeful smile.

"I'm sure it's just a delay. Heath mentioned a megaherd that's been making its way up north. They may have been stopped by that," he provided. "Probably just holed up in some town until it passes." They heard faint thunder roll and they looked to the south to see dark clouds moving up their way. They could make out flashes of lightening in the distance and Glenn sighed, knowing it would hit them soon enough. "Maybe they got caught in that."

Rick watched the clouds for a moment before he turned back to Judith, who had made it to the farm and was now reaching through the dense to pet the cow. "I hope you're right, Glenn," he addressed before he hurried to take care of Judith before she squeezed through the gate. Glenn watched him go before looking down at his son, kissing his temple.

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

"Hey sleepyhead," Michonne greeted, peering into the examination room to see Carl sitting up on the bed, wincing slightly as Andre cleaned his wound. "How's our patient doing?"

"He's healing," Andre told her as he fixed new gauze over the stitches and taped it down before he sat back. "There!"

Michonne leaned against the doorjamb and smiled as she watched Carl slowly put his shirt on. "You look better," she agreed and he looked over at her shyly.

"Thank you," he whispered, looking between the two. "I don't think I thanked you earlier."

Andre shook his head. "No need. Happy to help," he responded. "We're just glad you're okay."

"It's been a while since we've had guests," Michonne added. "Especially not ones from so far away from here."

Carl looked at them. "Where is here?"

"Brookside High School," Michonne answered, cutting her son off before he could reply.

Carl frowned. That name sounded familiar. "Where's that?"

"A few miles away from that town you and your friends washed into."

Andre looked over at his mother impatiently and she hid a smile. "Carl, my son wants to ask you a couple of questions, if you're up to it," she informed the teen and Carl nodded. There was not much he would deny the child who had rescued him from a herd of walkers.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"A sister."

"Older?"

"Younger."

"Was she with you?"

Carl shook his head. "She's with my dad."

Andre stared at him for a moment and then pointed to his shoulder. "Where were you shot the last time?"

"Andre!" Michonne scolded, but Carl seemed amused by the young boy's questions.

"My stomach," he answered, patting the spot where he had been hit all those years ago near Hershel's farm.

Andre's eyes widened and he leaned forward. "Was someone trying to kill you?"

That question did take Carl by surprise and when he glanced over at Michonne's stoic face, he realized that Andre was not being obliviously precocious, but was interrogating him.

"You don't have to answer that," she whispered, but something told him that she was just as curious about the answer as her son was.

"It was an accident. Someone was aiming for a deer," he told them truthfully and Andre's eyes somehow got bigger.

"Seriously?!" he snorted. "That's twice isn't it."

Carl frowned. "What do you mean?"

Andre shrugged. "Five years in, most people aren't shot by accident anymore… You've been 'mistakenly' shot a couple of times now." He smiled. "You must have the worst luck… or the best."

Confused, Carl glanced over at Michonne. "How'd you figure?"

The young child pointed at him. "Shootin' someone you don't like wastes bullets you may need later," Andre explained with the tone of someone much older than he appeared. "Every shot counts, so you better kill it the first time, right mom?"

Michonne caught her son's eyes and nodded. "That's right," she affirmed, turning her gaze over to Carl. "You may only get one shot."

Andre mimicked his mother's movements and looked back at Carl, as if it should have been so obvious from the get go. "And you got shot twice… by accident…"

Seeing that Carl was a little startled by how intense the conversation had suddenly become, she decided to change tactics and pushed away from the door.

"Andre, enough," she whispered. "Why don't you give our guest a tour? He needs to stretch his legs anyway."

Carl winced, clutched his stomach and blushed. "Um… is there a bathroom?"

Michonne exchanged an amused glance with Andre and she motioned towards the door. "Andre, help him," she instructed, leading the way out of the examination room. Carl stopped when he caught sight of his backpack on the desk, resting next his father's Colt Python. Andre felt his body stiffen upon seeing his belongings and he glanced over at his mother to determine next steps. Michonne watched Carl for a moment before she walked over to the desk and grabbed the gun. Carl held his breath for a moment. He had spent the last couple of hours trying to figure out if the people who had taken him. They had been kind enough to patch him up, but even that was not enough to ensure one's safety in this world. Even with Andre hanging around, the young child was armed with a sword and gun of his own, mirroring his mother in more than just aesthetics. There was no telling who else was around and what they had planned for him once he was well enough.

To his surprise, however, Michonne just turned the gun around in her hands and handed it to him while Andre stepped away to grab his canteen.

"You won't need it," she told him, her eyes expressing a kindness and amusement that instantly put him at ease. Immediate reservations faded as he tucked the weapon in his belt and followed the two out of the nurses office into the dark halls. The large bay windows at the end of the locker lined corridor allowed the frequent cracks of lightning to illuminate their path, but Andre shook her arm and Michonne turned on a flashlight anyway, keeping it trained on the ground in front of them as she led the way to a deserted part of the school. Andre pointed to a door at the end and smiled apologetically.

"That's the only one that works. We don't have a lot of running water, so…" There was no need to continue. Carl remembered the situation they had set up at the prison as he moved down to where Andre had indicated. Michonne and Andre watched him disappear before Andre turned to his mother.

"Can he stay?" he asked eagerly and she eyed him carefully.

"I'm not going to kick him out, if that's what you're worried about, Andre," she whispered. "Besides, he's injured."

"But once he gets well?"

"Andre, I'm sure he's going to want to go back home, wherever that is," she responded, but she could see a fierce determination growing in her son's eyes. It was the same determination that had crossed his face the last time they had encountered some strangers and just like that time, she knew she would have to disappoint him. Hopefully this time it would not be by blowing the head off of the individual in question.

"Then perhaps we could go with-"

"No," she snapped quickly, bending over so that her face was close to his. "We will not be leaving and Andre." She snapped her fingers. "Andre, look at me, you will not bring it up… We are going to help this boy get better and then if he needs to leave, we will help him, but we are not going with him." Something else occurred to her. "Besides, he may not actually be from a community, Andre. They may have just been roamers, so it may not be worth bringing up anyway."

Andre's face fell and he looked down at his shoes. "What if he brings it up?" he asked and she sighed.

"Then we will politely decline and send him on his way…" Sensing his discouragement, Michonne reached out and lifted his chin, forcing him to look at her. "Andre, you remember the last time, don't you?"

"But I don't think he's like that, Mom," he protested quietly, quickly and visibly growing frustrated.

"You've only known him for a few hours," she reminded him solemnly. "Besides, they were nice too… right up until they weren't."

"So we're just going to be alone for the rest of our lives?" Andre questioned and Michonne sighed. This was a conversation they had less often than she expected, but it was still unsettling when it came up. Their last experience of being with a community had been more than just unpleasant and she had sworn that she would never go back to that place again. It was an easy promise to keep when they rarely ran across other people and the past two times that they had only reinforced her view. Carl's age was the only thing that had worked in his favor this time around and his general demeanor gave her hope that nothing horrible would happen during his stay. But so far, this encounter was not relaxing her to the idea of engaging with others once again in a community capacity. Good people still fell prey to bad leaders and this teenage boy could be an unwitting example of that.

"I said no, Andre," she whispered before Carl reemerged and headed towards them. "Feeling better?"

Carl nodded with a smile, but noticed how crestfallen Andre looked. "Are you okay?" he asked and the boy shrugged, turning to walk away.

"Fine," he grumbled over his shoulder and Carl looked over at Michonne, once again surprising her with the worry on his face.

"Is he okay?" he repeated and she shook her head, motioning for him to follow them.

"No, but he will be," she asserted honestly. "Now, let's give you that tour."

Brookside High School was a large two-story complex that had served over one thousand students before becoming a cemetery after the turn. From what Michonne was able to ascertain, the towns nearby had been quick to fall to the virus, prompting local authorities to gather students in the gym to keep them safe, hoping to keep the healthy children in town separated from those in the school who had fallen ill. That mistake had cost hundreds of young children their lives and left the entire school a haunting mausoleum that seemed to attract other young walkers from neighboring areas. Michonne and Andre had stumbled across the place about a year ago and in that time they had transformed the deathtrap into a disturbing fortress.

After weeks of clearing the massive building and surrounding property of walkers, they had set up an elaborate security system of hostile and mutilated walkers along the fences and outer walls to mask the compound from herds and trick anyone peering in from the road, where only the deserted front of the building could be seen, into thinking the school was surrounded by walkers and not worth the risk. Michonne had gathered several plants from wild gardens around the area to set up a small garden in the old sandbox out on the playground while they turned the AstroTurf soccer field into a parking lot for a couple of small cars, a Road Pro snow plow, and a massive pick-up truck hooked up to a huge multi-purpose horse trailer. The cafeteria had been split into a makeshift meat curing area and fresh cheese-making station while the gym had been transformed into a farm house, sheltering four quarter horses, a light brown milking cow, a squealing litter of abandoned piglets, and a lone chicken that seemed more content at corralling the baby pigs rather than producing eggs.

Michonne and Andre had kept the large, open library intact while they made use of other classrooms as storage or booby traps, filled with hostile walkers waiting for unwanted intruders. The chemistry lab was now housing several toxic bombs Michonne managed to rig up after following the warning labels on several lab books and picking up a few extra books from libraries they had stumbled across when they went out to scavenge. It was interesting the types of things one could learn how to do if they had the time and wealth of books to read. Andre would make use of the art supplies in the studio on the second floor when he was not doing chores or reading in the library.

"You did this all by yourselves?" Carl gaped in awe as they left the gym and headed for the cafeteria.

"Yes," Andre declared while Michonne smiled and pinched his cheek.

"It didn't happen overnight, and we're still working on several things," she added, opening the side door to the large industrial kitchen behind the serving counter.

"Does any of it work?" Carl asked right before she flicked one of the switches and a couple of the florescent lights sputtered on, dimly lighting the area.

"Some do," Andre said before he smelled something delicious and jumped up and down. "Oh! Did you make dinner already?"

At the mere mention of it, Carl's stomach growled loudly and his face turned bright red when his hosts turned to look at him. Michonne tried to hid a smile, but Andre laughed and grabbed Carl's hand, pulling him down the first row of stoves towards the oven where something was cooking in the oven.

"Is it done?" Andre asked and Michonne checked her watch before she nodded.

"Yep, take it out," she instructed as she grabbed three paper plates and some plastic silverware, setting it on the counter. Andre put on a couple of oven mitts and Carl pulled the door open so that he could grab the small glass dish inside.

"Oh wow…" Carl drooled as Andre beamed proudly at his mother.

"It's just mac and cheese," Michonne responded while they brought the dish over. "Set it down there." The boys watched hungrily as she scooped the food into the plates, both bouncing slightly on the balls of their feet as they waited for her to finish. Sensing their impatience, Michonne pointed to the cafeteria. "Andre, go grab some jerky for Carl. He needs some protein."

"May I have some too?"

She nodded and he quickly went to go fetch the meat. When he came back, Michonne was putting the baking dish back into the oven and turning it off. Removing the mitts, she walked over to a bright orange five gallon Gatorade dispenser in the corner with several empty canteens resting next to it. She filled a couple and then nodded to Carl.

"Can you hold your plate?" she asked and he nodded. "Good, let's go."

Carl realized quickly that they were not headed for the cafeteria and he frowned. "Where are we going?"

"Principal's office," Andre replied. When they got to the main staircase of the school, Andre offered Carl his shoulder to lean on as they made their way to the second floor. Michonne smiled at their teamwork but said nothing as Carl huffed his way to the top, taking a moment to catch his breath while Andre watched him worriedly. "Are you okay? Can you breathe?"

Michonne waited for teen to nod and offer the boy a winded smile. "Fine," he managed, standing up straight again and following them a little ways further to the office with frosted windows on the outside. As he waited for Michonne to open the door, he heard something shuffle around in the small storage closet nearby and he glanced over at Andre, who had also heard it, but did not look to concerned.

"We have rats," he explained. "Sometimes they get into the closets."

"But not in here," Michonne added, opening the door wide for Andre and Carl to walk through before she closed and locked it behind her. She turned on the lights and Carl was stunned by how big the office was, with a massive wooden desk and floor to ceiling shelves on one side, several gym mats covered in sheets on the floor, and two walls of windows overlooking the back of the school. The view provided them with the perfect vantage point to see anyone who approached from the rear or sides of the school, while the front, which Michonne had briefly shown him during their tour, was a deathtrap to any who attempted it. At some point during their time at the school, Michonne and Andre had funneled many of the walkers from inside the school out the front door, where they now shuffled aimlessly in the fenced entrance and driveway, making it close to impossible to get in that way. If someone did come through, Andre and Michonne would know it.

"It's beautiful," Carl murmured, watching as the raging storm intermittently lit up the landscape, providing Carl with a great look at the cleared schoolyard and the walkers that moved around just beyond the protected fence, unaware of what was inside.

"Carl," Michonne called and he turned to see her and Andre sitting at a small metal table right behind him. She patted a computer chair next to her. "Sit," she beckoned. "Let's have dinner."

For the first few moments, they ate in relative silence as hunger overwhelmed Carl, causing him to wolf down most of his meal. Michonne alternated between watching him and exchanging amused glances while they ate their own food.

"This is delicious," he complimented. "How did you make the cheese?"

"We read books and a lot of trial and error," she replied, glancing over at her son. "Remember the first five or six batches were terrible."

"They made me throw up," Andre added and Michonne shot him a disapproving look.

"Andre," she chided and he shoved more mac and cheese in his mouth.

"Sorry," he mumbled through his food and she rolled her eyes while Carl laughed. They fell into a comfortable silence for a few more minutes before Carl finally slowed his eating and turned to look at Michonne.

"So...um... has it just been the two of you here?" He asked carefully.

Michonne sat back in her chair and looked over at Andre, who was chewing on some jerky. "Yes," she whispered distantly, remembering the month's long trip it had taken for them to even find this place. How Andre had cried at night their first few nights in the school, barricaded in an old history room while walkers creeped around outside.

"Why?"

She caught the curious look he was giving her and pursed her lips, trying to figure out exactly what he was trying to get from this line of questioning.

"Mom doesn't want to go back to being in a community," Andre alleged before clamping his mouth shut under her withering glare. Carl saw the look she gave him and shifted in his seat, wincing a little at the sharp ache in his shoulder.

"Andre and I have..." She thought for the right words. "We had a bad experience in the last place we were at."

Carl frowned. "What happened?" He inquired softly and she took a deep breath, reaching out to take Andre's hand in a comforting grip. Carl bit his lip when he saw tears appear in the young boy's eyes and he waved his hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry..."

Michonne shook her head and gave him a faint yet reassuring smile. "It's fine, Carl," she replied, meeting his gaze. "The community was destroyed and we were left to fend for ourselves for a very long time... After a while, you get used to it."

"Do you want to get used to it?" Carl questioned and she raised an eyebrow while Andre raised his head, watching his mother as he wiped his face.

For a moment she just stared at Carl. She had been through this line of questioning before, but somehow this felt different.

"Mom-"

"Do you even have a home, Carl?" She interjected, sitting up straighter as she went back to eating dinner. Andre looked over at the teen expectantly, anxious to know if his mother was right about Carl and his group being homeless or not.

"Of course," he confirmed. "It's a huge community..." He laughed a bit. "We were actually on a recruiting mission before we were pushed into the town."

Andre's face twisted in confusion and awe. "Recruitment?"

Michonne looked equally unsure of the use of that word. In her five years in this apocalypse, she had never encountered a group that actively went out looking for more people. Sure many people would stumble across different communities, but for a community to venture out into the violent world and bring in strangers... that willingness to take in survivors was an uneasy marriage of arrogance and optimism and it intrigued her.

"Yeah... we sometimes go out and look for people. We bring them back to Alexandria, give them a roof over their head and future in a new community," he told them and she tilted her head to the side, catching his eyes.

"Why?"

Carl bit his lip. In all honesty, it had been a very long time since he had actually even thought about it. Recruitment was just something that they did since they had arrived at Alexandria, but as he examined the question he answer came to him fairly quickly.

"The biggest danger out there aren't the walkers but people," he articulated. "The best way to combat that is to have people that you trust. To build a community of people that you trust."

"And you trust all of those people?"

"Yes."

"Even the one who shot you?" Michonne piped in, silencing Carl briefly as Andre looked on in surprise. Her question was jarring as he honestly did not know how he had been shot in the first place. He remembered the searing pain that sliced through his torso, but through the torrential rain, he had not seen who had fired the shot. The fact that Michonne nonchalantly mentioned it in an effort to contest his statement about trust told him a lot about her current state of mind. Carl could tell that his mention of recruitment had piqued her interest, but that she was still closed off to the idea of actually joining a new community. Andre, on the other hand, was having trouble masking his desire to learn more and it was understandable, considering his age. As interesting as the last few months had probably been for them as they created a home out of the school, Carl guessed that the child craved interactions with someone other than his mother.

Before anyone could say anything more, lightning cracked across the back of the school, striking a tree just beyond the fence before it struck something at the side, within the perimeter. Right after the flashing stopped, a strange groaning noise sounded before they were plunged into darkness. Carl heard Andre whimper and shift around swiftly in the dark before Michonne turned a flashlight on, holding her son close as she gently stroked his hair.

"Sorry, baby, I forgot," she murmured, looking around. "Carl, could you go grab those matches, please."

The teen saw the terrified look on Andre's face as he stood up and went to the desk to pick up a book of matches. He turned to see Michonne whispering something to her son before she took the matches and began lighting a couple of candles placed strategically around the office.

"The generator must have shut off," she grumbled when she lit the last candle. "I'll deal with it in the morning..." She glanced over at Carl. "Are you done eating?" He nodded and she smiled. "Okay, well then, Andre," she called, motioning for him to come over to him. He got up from the table and hurried over into her arms, wrapping his arms around her waist, squeezing her tightly. She kissed his temple quickly. "Get ready for bed. I'm going to walk Carl back to the nurse's office, okay?"

"Okay," Andre mumbled and she took his chin between her fingers.

"Hey, are you going to be okay?" She asked quietly so that only he could hear. He nodded and she smiled. "Good, don't for get to brush your teeth." Catching Carl's eyes, she motioned to the door as she readjusted her katana on her back. "Time for bed."

Carl snorted. "Seriously?"

Michonne raised an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips. "Young man, you may not be my child, but you are still in my house, and as such you will abide by my curfew," she intoned, trying not to laugh when he struggled not to yawn. "Besides, you need your rest."

Carl's cheeks reddened and he looked down at his shoes, sufficiently previous reaction. Smiling to herself, she placed a hand on his back and steered him out of the office.

"Andre, I'll be back in a bit," she called and he waved, staying close to the candles as he prepared for bed.

"Is he okay?" Carl asked as they headed downstairs, following the gleam of Michonne's flashlight.

She nodded, the smile on her face fading slightly as she took a deep breath. "Talking to him, you forget that he's so young and in this world... the things he's had to do, you forget sometimes..." She looked over at the teen. "It's easy to forget that you all are still just children. And despite the monsters, the blood, the storms, and the killing, at the end of the day Andre is still just afraid of the dark."

Carl understood. Judith, as calm as she was with dealing with walkers and gunfire, she was still afraid of spiders. Despite how common a phobia it had been before the turn, now it was just something he would tease her about when his dad was not around. She had looked the gnashing, flailing, undead in the eyes without an utterance on many occasions, but the moment she spotted a daddy long legs in her room, she freaked out and screamed for her brother to come deal with it.

Suddenly Carl's heart clenched and he felt unbelievably lonely. Thoughts of his sister, his father, and Enid flooded his mind and he could not help but sniff back a tear, missing them and hoping he would be able to see them again. He needed to see them again.

"Carl," Michonne warned, gently tugging him towards her before he ran into some lockers. They reached the nurse's office in silence and Michonne watched him as he rummaged through his backpack. "Carl," she tried again.

"Yes?"

"We're going to get you home," she whispered and he turned to face her. She offered him a wane, assuring smile. "Even if we don't come with you, I'm going to make sure you get home."

He returned her smile. "Thank you, Michonne... for everything."

Michonne felt her maternal instincts reach out to this young man and begin to draw him in to the space where only Andre inhabited. She took a shaky deep breath and tried to stifle it. It was ridiculous notion.

"Get some rest," she advised, waving her hand behind her. "And please don't roam the halls. We've cleared everything, but the building is old and I don't want you to get hurt by tripping on something in the dark."

"Or opening the wrong door?" Carl quipped, recalling her mention of booby trapped classrooms from earlier. He had not failed to notice that she would not tell him where they were located and the tiny observation windows on all the classroom doors had been blocked with construction paper and cardboard. Apart from the animals in the gym and the occasional rat, Carl had not heard anything that indicated the building was occupied by any undead. Just protected by them.

Michonne caught the look he gave her and she nodded slowly. "Yes, so please stay in here. If you need anything, just call. We'll hear you." She pointed to the desk. "Plus you have your gun and that knife in your backpack."

"You went through my backpack?"

Michonne tapped the door and backed out of the office. "Goodnight, Carl."

"Good night."

* * *

After a couple of hours of fitful sleeping, Carl lay on the examination bed, staring up at the ceiling for several minutes, thinking about Alexandria. He longed to be in his own bed, in his own home again. He wanted to sit in the gazebo with Enid and hold her hand. He wanted to hear his father's voice again.

He did not want to be alone.

It took a bit of effort to sit back up again and he touched his shoulder to make sure the wound had not ripped open. Taking several deep breaths, he tried to will the pain away as he listened. For a moment there was nothing to be heard but the pounding rain on the roof and windows around the school, but then something shifted and clattered to the ground. He heard a soft growl and then it stopped. Closing his eyes, he strained to listen and he caught a bit of shuffling and scratching coming from somewhere else on the first floor. Biting his lip, he got up and tucked his gun in his back pocket before he headed to the door, peering out into the hallway, where he could see nothing. He looked for his flashlight in his backpack, but the batteries were clearly dying as he turned it own, a faint orange glow emanating from the instrument.

He reconsidered his plan, remembering Michonne's request that he stay in the office. But he heard more strange noises, the more his heart raced.

He did not want to be alone.

Carl felt along the walls, struggling to make his way down the dark halls when another flash of lightning illuminated his way to the stairs. He quickly hurried up the stairs before he was plunged once again into darkness. The little flashlight barely offered him enough light to see a couple feet ahead of him, but within five minutes he managed to make it to the principal's office. The light was off inside and he wondered if he should just turn around rather than intrude on the two. He could just suck up his fear of the creaky nurse's office, but some unearthly groans prompted him to continue. He almost made it to the door when his foot got caught on a line and he crashed to the ground, releasing a high pitched yelp at the pain that shot up his spine as his feet became entangled in some rope. It took him a moment to realize that the line he had tripped on was connected to the small storage closet next to the office, triggering it to unlatch and swing open, releasing a couple of walkers.

Carl's screams instantly woke Michonne and Andre, who came stumbling out of the office, weapons ready as they tried to assess the situation through a haze of sleepiness.

"Carl!" Andre yelled, realizing what had happened, "Carl, wait don't shoot them!" He ran over to the fallen teen, who was struggling to remove his gun from his back pocket while scooting frantically away from the loosed walkers. Michonne sheathed her katana and grabbed the walker closest to Carl before she pulled out a flashlight and pointed it at the dead while the second one bumped up against her back, gurgling pathetically through what was left of its mouth.

"Look, they're harmless," she pointed out while her son helped Carl to his feet.

"Oh, your shoulder's bleeding," Andre worried while Carl kept his eyes on the two mutilated walkers Michonne was now corralling back into the storage closet.

"What was that?" He demanded and Michonne sighed.

"Just a little extra security," she responded, closing the door on the moaning creatures and resetting the rope along the floor. "In case someone gets into the school while we're asleep."

If Carl was not still recovering from his scare, he would have taken time to address her use of walkers as a warning system. Andre helped him into the office and went to go find the first aid kit while Michonne finished up.

"What are you doing up here?" Michonne asked when she was done and closed the office door behind her. She lit one of the candles on the table and turned off her flashlight. "I told you not to roam around at night. You could have been hurt." Carl could detect the genuine worry in her voice as she came over to examine his shoulder and it instantly reminded him of his own mother. "Carl," she snapped, sensing him drifting in his thoughts. He blinked and she tilted her head. "What were you doing up here?"

She saw the blush on his face and he averted his eyes. "Um… Well, I… I heard a noise downstairs and…" He chanced a glance her way and instantly looked away again. She was now smiling at him with a knowing look on her face. As Andre came back in with the kit, she shook her head at both of them and stood up, giving her son a chance to check Carl's injury.

"You two are perfect for each other," she muttered teasingly, grabbing her flashlight and heading back for the door.

"Where are you going?" Carl and Andre asked simultaneously, and Michonne snorted, trying to hold back her laughter for the sake of both boys.

"Just to the gym to grab another mat," she said, throwing Carl an amused glance as she walked out. "You boys can have a sleepover."

Andre suddenly perked up. "I can stay up late?" He asked excitedly and she nodded.

"Yes, but you still have chores tomorrow morning, so don't overdue it."

Her son waited until she was gone before turning to Carl, eyes brimming with glee and Carl's wound temporarily forgotten. "Have you ever played Monopoly?" He rushed eagerly with a hint of seriousness in his high voice.

"What?"

Andre scrambled over to the cabinet in the corner and pulled out a brand new Monopoly game, still wrapped in plastic. "Mom refuses to play because she says she says it's a bad game, but I think it looks fun?" At this point he was practically bouncing with hopefulness. "Do you want to play?"

Carl glanced at the box, recalling how much he loathed playing that game with his parents. He had actually flipped the board once when his father managed to buy up one entire side of the board, taking all of Carl's money. He swore he'd never play that game again.

"Okay," Carl responded, offering Andre a smile as he eased over to the small table they had eaten dinner at earlier by the window. "But I get to be the top hat."

Confusion fell upon the boy's face as he hurriedly joined Carl at the table, pulling out a knife to open the box. "The what?"

Carl laughed and shook his head, pointing at the game. "I'll teach you, don't worry," he assured, using his good hand to help Andre unpack the board and money. "I'll be the banker."

"What's a banker?"

At the door, Michonne peered in and watched them for a moment, smiling to herself at the sight. Any reservations she had about leaving Andre alone with Carl washed away as she observed the teen carefully explaining the rules of the game to her son. For a brief moment it felt like before the turn, and they were just hanging out, however a soft moan from the closet reminded her of the real world and she sighed, heading out to grab another mat. She took her time, however, as she was in no rush to come back and be dragged into playing that horrible game.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all so much for your supportive words. I'm glad you liked the first chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one as well. Next chapter, you will see Rick's reaction to the news and some more Michonne, Andre, Carl interactions. Now off to go play catch up on Cross My Heart. I probably won't be able to update this for another week or two, so please be patient! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Oh my goodness! I honestly had no idea this story would get such a response and I really appreciate the reviews! Thank you all for being so patient with me while I get things sorted. I hope you all like this chapter!**

When Rosita, Sasha, Jesus, and Ron arrived at the Hilltop, it became quickly apparent to those at the gate that something was off.

"Jesus, you've been gone for forever," one of the guards greeted tentatively through the rain. "We were starting to worry."

"Where's Rick?" Rosita demanded, not waiting for Jesus to reply. "Where is he?"

The guard pointed to the brightly lit manor. "Main house. At least that…" He drifted off when he saw Sasha and Jesus dragging Ron out of the car they had arrived in. "Um what-"

"Let me go! Please don't make me-"

"Shut up," Jesus hissed, but it was Sasha's withering glare that caused the teen to clamp his mouth tight. As they drew closer to the house, they could hear laughter coming from inside and their hearts collectively sunk at the prospect of having to ruin whatever happy occasion it was. However, before they could get to the door, someone's excited yelling stopped them.

"Ron! Ron!" Enid came running out of one of the trailers in a rain poncho, Rick and a very pregnant Maggie close behind her, huddled under an umbrella. "Ron, you're back!"

"What the hell is going on?" Maggie demanded while Rosita and Jesus yanked the teenager up the muddy incline.

"I didn't do anything!" Ron protested as Alexandria's leader made his way over to where the new arrivals were. Enid was already standing next to Ron with a worried expression.

"Let go of me!" Ron snapped but Rosita ignored him, turning to Rick with sadness and rage in her eyes.

"Rick!" She whispered. "I'm so sorry!"

"When did you all get back?" Enid questioned of Ron, not noticing the silent conversation quickly taking place between Rick, Rosita, and Jesus.

"Rick," Sasha murmured. "Something went wrong on their run..."

"Why are you here?" Rick asked quietly, slowly trying to understand just what was taking place. He could see the pain in his friends eyes and the fear in Ron's, but he refused to acknowledge its meaning. There was no way that could even be a possibility. "Rosita."

"Rick, we got separated during the storm and there was a herd-"

Enid quickly realized that something was off and she looked around for the others that had left with their group three weeks ago. "Where's Carl?" She breathed, turning to Ron, who lowered his eyes to the ground. "Where's-"

Rosita looked close to tears as she gazed directly into Rick's eyes. "Rick, I am so sorry… I promised… I couldn't…"

"Oh my God," Maggie gasped before placing a hand over her mouth to keep from uttering a cry of grief.

Rick just shook his head, looking between them in disbelief while Enid's eyes narrowed, instinctively knowing that her counterpart had something to do with it.

"No," Rick muttered, his face growing pale and hands clammy. "No. Where is he?"

"What did you do?" Enid demanded instantly, growing furious when he refused to look at her. "Ron, what did you do? What the fuck did you do?!"

"Enid!" Maggie cried, grabbing her before she could attack Ron. Rick still looked off-balanced and Jesus attempted to provide an explanation.

"We got pushed off of the highway into this town by a megaherd, Rick," he tried, but it was clear to everyone that Rick was no longer listening. He had turned sheet white and his body was beginning to quake as he continued to shake his head, mumbling 'no' repeatedly under his breath. "Rick... we-"

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Enid bellowed piercingly through the rain, struggling to be free of Maggie's grip. "Ron-"

"Carl was shot," Rosita blurted out, unwilling to keep that information from him. She shoved Ron forward, glaring at him. "Tell him what you did!"

"I didn't-"

"Tell him!" Jesus snarled and Ron startled, shivering as they became soaked in the rain.

"It wasn't my fault," he maintained defiantly. Rick was barely paying attention. "Someone attacked us and I was trying to protect everyone-"

"You shot my son?" Rick stammered suddenly, as if he had just been included in a long-running conversation. There was a moment where the two just stared at each other, storm raging, tension mounting, realization and grief sweltering around them. Rick could barely breathe as he awaited the boy's response. His mind was racing. What had happened to his son? What had happened to Carl? Why was Carl not here? Where was Ca-

"It was an accident," Ron cowed.

"Enid!" Maggie screamed when the girl broke away and struck Ron square in the jaw with a right hook before she fell on him, beating him down with powerful punches before Maggie and Sasha dragged her away, kicking and swearing. Despite the rain, they were starting to draw a crowd of worried Hilltop residents, including Glenn and Ron's mother.

"LET GO OF ME!" Enid sobbed, spitting on Ron's bruised face. "LET GO!"

Glenn ran over to help Maggie deal with their daughter while Sasha hauled Ron to his feet for his mother to examine. Rosita reached out carefully for Rick, who was now just staring at the spot Ron had occupied right before Enid's attack. There was a moment when she thought he was going to throw up.

"Rick," Rosita attempted, touching his shoulder. "Rick- RICK!"

The area erupted in screams when in a split second the leader of Alexandria catatonically pulled out his gun and aimed it straight at Ron's head. Rosita lunged forward and put herself between him and the Andersons.

"Rick, don't!" She pleaded when he tried to get around her, eyes now filled with the same murderous rage she had seen only a couple of times in the past. "This won't solve anything! You can't kill him!"

"RICK!" Jesse cried, holding Ron behind her as she held up her hands to stop the furious leader. "RICK PLEASE!"

"Rick, stop it!" Maggie yelled, moving away from her husband and Enid to stand by her friend. "Rick, Carl wouldn't want you to do this and you know it. I know how you're feeling right now, but you _cannot_ do this... not here, not now..." Rick's eyes narrowed and his finger squeezed tighter on the trigger. Maggie reached out and touched his trembling arm, trying to connect with his eyes. "Rick... Rick, _please_ ," she whispered.

For a brief moment, it looked as if Rick would ignore her and just shoot the boy. At this point, tears were streaming down his grief-stricken face and it seemed the only thing that would have brought him any sort of relief from the hatred and pain would have been to pull the trigger. But just as he was readying to once again wreak havoc on a peaceful community for his own selfish, tortured reasons, a sudden and overwhelming desire took over him.

Without another word, Rick dropped his arm and took off for where the vehicles were kept. Realizing what he was doing, Rosita attempted to follow after him.

"RICK!" she screamed, but the man was too fast and too determined to be stopped. Before anyone could say anything, he had jumped into the car he had used to get to the Hilltop and sped off for the gate, spraying up mud and hindering their advance. "RICK!"

"Open the gate!" Rick bellowed over the crack of thunder.

"Wait!" Jesus yelled. "Rick wait!"

Ignoring them, he pointed his gun at the guard. "Open the fucking gate, now!"

The frightened guard did as he was asked before Jesus and Rosita could reach him and they watched the car speed off into the storm.

"Damn it!" Jesus snapped, looking back to see Sasha and Maggie attempting to calm down the Hilltop residents and handle the mess Rick had left in his wake. Glenn was running towards them. "This isn't good..."

"Paul, he's going to kill himself," Rosita gasped. "That storm is getting worse!"

"What the hell was that?!" Glenn demanded. "Rosita, did Ron really shoot Carl?"

Rosita wiped the rain out of her face and flung her hands up in the air in frustration. "Ron got scared! He freaked out while the herd was closing in on us, some random person showed up trying to escape and Ron started shooting! He struck Carl and the herd just overtook him. There was nothing we could do!"

Jesus turned back to the road Rick had disappeared down. "We need to do something now," he charged, tired of feeling helpless. "Rosita's right. Rick's going to get himself killed."

"We have no idea where he's going!" Rosita snapped and Glenn recalled back to Lori's death and Rick's similar reaction.

"He's going to go back... to where Carl was," he muttered and Rosita shook her head.

"He has no idea where that is!"

Jesus placed a hand on Glenn's shoulder. "We need to go after him."

Glenn nodded. "Then let's go," he responded quickly, following them up the hill to where Maggie was instructing the residents to return inside. "Maggie, they're going after Rick. I'm going with them."

Maggie frowned and shook her head. "Glenn, no, please," she whispered. "This baby is almost here. I don't want you out there."

"Rick-"

Sasha stepped forward. "I'll go with them," she interjected, catching the thankful look on Maggie's face. "Glenn, don't worry, we'll get him. Besides, Judith needs you two to look after her."

Glenn's eyes closed and he mentally cursed himself for that lapse. "Fuck... Judith! Damn it, Rick," he growled before turning to Jesus. "You guys go, hurry up, and find him. We'll deal with Ron."

Jesse looked up from her son. "Glenn, my son-"

"Shut up, Jesse!" Maggie hissed viciously as Enid approached her.

"Maggie-"

"Jesse, I told you to shut the fuck up," the pregnant woman growled, moving away from them down the incline while Enid took her arm to help.

"I'm going too-"

Glenn shook his head. "No, Enid-"

"I need to make sure, please, Glenn," she begged tearfully, watching as Sasha, Rosita, and Jesus headed back to their car. "I need to go."

Maggie stopped Glenn from responding and handed Enid the gun she carried. "Go," she whispered, giving her a swift kiss on the temple. "Be safe!"

They watched her sprint over to the car and jump in before Rosita squealed out into the storm, hightailing it down the road in hopes of catching up with Rick.

"Glenn," Maggie gasped, reaching out for his hand and squeezing it tightly. "Oh my God, Carl..."

Glenn looked at her, his heart breaking with hers as their tears mingled with the falling rain. "I know..."

Maggie looked over at Jesse and Ron. "They better come back," she threatened, her eyes narrowing on Ron. "Or _I'm_ going to finish what Rick started."

* * *

"Andre, the net! Remember the net!" Michonne yelled from the other end of the gym as she watched her son unlock the large exit door to the playground. She stood up straight and placed a hand on her hip, patting the cow she was milking as she observed Andre hook up the badminton net across the base of the doorframe before he pushed open the doors, preventing the curious piglets from running out. A smile graced her face when Andre stepped over the net and turned to scold the snorting babies, each scuttling around, attempting to join him as he went out into the rain to grab some water buckets. She remembered when he had found them during one of their runs, left abandoned by an injured mother who had been attacked by a walker prior to Andre finding her at the tiny den they were huddled in. The poor sow had put up a fight against the walker that trailed her back to her brood before Andre put them both down. Michonne had found him cuddling the newborn piglets and agreed to take them home on the condition that Andre realize what would happen to them when they got old enough.

"Hey."

Glancing over her shoulder, Michonne saw Carl as he slowly made his way into the gym over to where she was. She smiled and motioned at his shoulder, which was now in a makeshift sling.

"Morning," she greeted. "How are you feeling?"

He smiled back at her and moved it a bit, wincing slightly. "It still hurts, but not as much... what's Andre doing?"

"Bringing in some water," she explained. "With all of this rain, we're gonna fill as many canteens and barrels as we can with fresh water before it stops. He's bringing in some buckets for the animals as well."

Carl nodded, watching Michonne return to milking the cow. "Do you do this everyday?" He asked and she nodded.

"It's always good to have a routine," she responded, more to herself than to him. It had been something she had insisted early on in their time at the school. In spite of their circumstances, Michonne wanted to get Andre used to certain duties and taking care of himself so if the day ever came that she was never there, he would at least be able to survive on his own.

"He's going to be fine."

Michonne looked up in surprise to catch Carl's knowing gaze. He walked over to the cow and stroked the animal's belly, still amazed at everything they had accomplished by themselves.

"He needs to be fine," she whispered. "He won't always have me."

They fell silent for a moment. Carl thought of his own parents and how they had treated him differently during the start of the turn. He wondered what his life would have been like if they had given him the responsibilities Michonne thrust upon her son at such a young age.

"Carl!" Andre yelled happily from across the gym as he hurriedly carried a large bucket of water over to the big watering trough for the horses. "How's your shoulder feeling?"

Michonne caught the way Carl's demeanor changed the moment Andre called. It was easy to see that the teen was just as fond of the young boy as Andre was of him and she smiled as Carl quickly moved to help the child pour out the water.

"Andre finish up. I'm going to start breakfast. Carl-"

"I'll help Andre," Carl asserted before she could even start.

Michonne raised an eyebrow. "You don't have to," she replied carefully as she picked up the small bucket of milk. "With your shoulder-"

"I want to pull my weight," he insisted, noting the surprise on her face. "I'm not gonna just lie around and have you take care of me. You saved my life. I'm gonna help."

Andre beamed and shoved the bucket in his good hand while Michonne eyed Carl for a moment, as if she were still trying to figure out how to feel about him. Like Andre, she was quickly growing to care for their guest, but found it odd to have such maternal feelings towards a stranger.

"Okay," she murmured, glancing over at Andre. "Make sure he doesn't hurt himself." She reached out and tugged a little on her son's poncho. "Hurry up now. We have a busy morning."

"Yes ma'am," Andre responded before he led the way back to the exit door where the piglets were watching the rain come down. Carl followed and waited at the door, grabbing the overflowing buckets Andre handed him from along the wall outside. As they worked to get buckets in, it became clear to Carl that Andre was very eager to learn more about him.

"So do you do stuff like this back at your home?" The child asked curiously as he shooed the piglets away. "Or are you just recruitment?"

Carl smiled. "I have duties back home. Sometimes I guard the wall, sometimes I help around the community. My friends do a lot of the same."

"How many friends do you have?"

"Only a couple."

"Are there a lot of kids where you live?"

Looking up from the bucket he was carrying, Carl instantly saw Andre's searching brown eyes and interest in hearing more. He wondered just how long it had been since he and Michonne had encountered other people.

"A few. We're sort of spread out through the other communities."

Andre dropped a bucket, spilling water everywhere and scattering the babes in a flurry of hay and squeals. "You have other communities?!" He yelped without thinking. "Like more than one place? You have other places? How many?"

Carl righted the emptied bucket. "Two others. Hilltop and the Kingdom."

"What's yours called?"

"Alexandria," Carl answered with a hint of sadness. He missed home.

"And there are children there? Like me?"

When Carl nodded, Andre's eyes widened even more as he moved to clean up the mess he had made.

"What's it like? How does it all work?" Andre inquired. "How do you stay safe with so many people?"

"Alexandria is wonderful. Everyone has their own house. There are walls to keep out walkers and bad people. We keep each other safe. We watch out for one another." Recalling Michonne's revelation from last night, he reached out and touched his shoulder gingerly. "We have disagreements sometimes and sometimes bad things happen, but I've lived there for three years and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else."

Andre looked up at him. "Your leaders... are they nice?"

Carl smiled. "My dad's the leader of Alexandria," he told the child. "He's the best man I know."

"And your friends?"

"What about them?"

Andre was not sure himself. The more he heard from Carl, the more he longed to see it for himself. The idea of a community that recruited people had blown his mind last night, but now the fact that it was not one community but three that existed together. That somehow cooperated. Andre could feel his heart beat faster as his mind raced with wild imaginings of children his age playing in clean streets. Of grown ups who had no ill will towards him. He had read of such things in the books in the library, but he could not remember a time when that existed. All he had ever known was the cruelty of this world and it was his mother's own stories of the time before the turn and her insistence that he read that kept him hoping they would eventually find good people and a good place.

"You're pretty lonely here, aren't you?" Carl observed quietly and Andre shrugged, closing the exit door and chaining it up again.

"It's alright," he mumbled, but Carl could see otherwise. "Mom and I are safe here."

"Alexandria's safe too."

Andre fell silent as he led the way out of the gym, closing the door behind him so the animals were locked in. For such a young boy, Carl noted how incredibly pensive he was and tried to imagine what it was like to be so far removed from other people for so long. He genuinely liked his hosts but it was becoming very clear from the conversations last night and Andre's line of questioning just now that their isolation was self-inflicted rather than circumstantial and Carl could tell that Michonne was the cause. Andre, for all of his horrible experiences, was still eager to make connections. His mother, while clearly loving and warm, for better or worse, was more focused on survival.

"You know… One time we lost our home, about three years ago we were at this prison and it was attacked. We found a new community but…"

"But what?"

Carl stopped. "They were cannibals."

"Whoa! Really?!" Andre sought excitedly. "How'd you get away? Did they eat someone? What'd you do to them?"

"We escaped and burned their place to the ground," Carl answered honestly and Andre sobered up immediately, suddenly overwhelmed not only by Carl's words but by the past as well. Images flashed through his mind, memories of a terrifying, chanting mob, uncomfortably intimate hands, a painful race through swamps, and his mother's destructive rage. He remembered the fires. The screams. The blood. A desperate and violent trek for hundreds of miles. He remembered cowering under bushes and climbing up trees, getting stuck, and splintered, and bruised. Sleeping in the mud, hiding in cars, reduced to eating insects and dead animals. Andre remembered hearing his mother cry when she thought he was sleeping...

"Are you ok, Andre?" Carl asked, setting down his bucket. When the child did not answer immediately, Carl reached out to touch his arm, nudging him a little until he caught sight of his face and realized the boy was crying. "Andre-"

"I'm sorry," Andre apologized immediately. His dark skin glowed red from embarrassment. Apart from his mother, he had never cried in front of people since that night of his mother's attack. It felt silly to cry now in front of Carl.

"Don't be sorry," Carl responded softly. "It's ok."

Andre took another moment. "I'm sorry," he repeated and Carl crouched down so that they were eye to eye.

"I'll tell you a secret... I cry sometimes," he admitted quietly, much to Andre's surprise. "I've lost a lot of friends... I've lost my mom... When I'm alone, sometimes I cry..."

Andre sniffed and wiped his face on his sleeve. "Is that really a secret?" He asked sincerely. While he had read many stories about friends that went on adventures and kept each others secrets, Andre had never been told one himself. It was just him and his mother. There were no secrets to tell and nothing to keep from each other.

"No one knows. Not even my girlfriend."

Andre gasped. "You have a girlfriend?" Carl nodded and Andre saw his face fall a little. "Do you miss her?"

"I miss everyone..."

The younger boy nodded and picked up his buckets again, leading the way down the hall. "I'm sorry your stuck here."

The statement caught Carl off guard and stopped once again, looking Andre straight in the eyes.

"I'm not," he told the boy. "I miss my family, but I'm glad I'm here Andre. I've made two new friends."

Andre's eyes widened. "I'm your friend?"

Nodding once more, Carl instantly observed his companion's face brighten. It was like Christmas had just been announced for the first time. "Of course."

For a moment it looked like Andre's brain had short-circuited. His mouth hung open in anticipation of words, but all the child could do was hop up and down in excitement. Carl could not help but grin back at the happy boy, shocked by his own giddiness at having found a kindred spirit. In such a short time, he found two people he was comfortable sharing things with that he had not told people he knew for years and the only devastating part was that once he was well enough to leave and the rain stopped, he would have to say goodbye to them.

"Oh, do you want to play Monopoly again after breakfast?!" Andre squeaked when his brain finally caught up.

Laughing, Carl nodded as they continued on their way. "Sure."

"And this time I get to be banker!"

* * *

"Are you positive?"

Jesus' heart ached at the pained desperation in Enid's voice as she repeated that question for the seventh time as they continued down the highway. He understood her stubborn refusal to fully accept their account of what had happened in that town, but it was impossible to provide her with any hope after what they had witnessed.

"Enid, we saw him go down..."

Enid sniffed and looked out the window, struggling to breathe as she shook her head. She did not want to believe that he was dead. Even in the three years they had known each other, it had taken a while for them to actually begin a relationship. The struggles and losses they had faced made their connection that much stronger and now it felt as if she were losing her parents all over again. In the days leading up to her own departure, they had barely seen each other, as Enid had temporarily moved back to the Hilltop to help Glenn during the final weeks of Maggie's pregnancy. She had promised him that once things had settled in the Rhee-Greene household, she would be back in Alexandria to spend more time with him. It frightened her to think that he had just died in the streets, shot by a boy she once looked upon as a friend.

"He can't be dead," she contended to herself, tearing up once more when Sasha reached out and took her hand comfortingly as she continued to look out her side of the car, scanning the wet terrain as they sped through the worsening storm.

"We just need to focus on getting Rick back," Rosita stressed through gritted teeth. "We need to make sure he's okay."

"He's in pain, Rosita," Sasha muttered and Jesus took a deep breath.

"He's out of his mind," he retorted. "He just left his daughter behind to go speeding off in a goddamn storm towards nowhere to find his dead son-"

"He's not dead!" Enid snapped angrily from the backseat.

Jesus sighed. "Enid-"

"THERE!" Rosita yelled as she eased up on the gas, slowing the car down as she pointed to a familiar figure standing out in the rain on the side of the highway. They pulled up beside him to see Rick leaning against his car, looking out into the distance as the storm beat against his soaked body. It was clear he had been standing there for some time, just waiting.

"Rick!" Sasha gasped as she and Jesus jumped out of the car. "Rick, are you okay?"

"The car ran out of gas," he stated tiredly, blinking slowly as he turned his head to see them. "I figured someone would come..."

Jesus took his cap off and ran his fingers through his hair, ignoring the weather around them. "Rick..." He choked on his words as the guilt came crashing back on him and Sasha stepped in.

"Rick, come into the car," she requested urgently. "Please, we need to get back."

The man shook his head. "I can't... I can't go back..." He looked straight at Jesus. "I need to see... I need to see for myself..."

Jesus' eyes widened. "Rick, I don't think that's a good idea... That place is crawling with walkers, and if Carl-"

Rick grabbed Jesus by the collar and shoved him up against the car, prompting Rosita to step out as well while Sasha grabbed Rick's wrists.

"Rick!" Rosita yelled. "Rick, don't!"

"I WANT TO SEE WHERE MY SON DIED!"

There was a brief pause, marked only by the pounding rain and occasional clap of thunder as they stood out in the middle of the highway. It was clear to them that he was suffering and Sasha recalled her initial interactions with him back at the prison right after he had lost his wife. His lost expression deeply mirrored the frightening stature he had taken before he expelled her, her brother, and their group, and it broke her heart that it was happening again. Rick had never taken loss well, particularly when it came to a family member, and she could not imagine how he felt now that he had lost his son after striving to keep him alive for so long. Just like back then, it was important now for them to help him through.

"Rick..." She was at a loss as to how to approach him.

Enid got out of the car and approached Rick, touching his arm tentatively. "Rick, please get in the car," she whispered, glancing over at the others before she squared herself resolutely. "We're going to go back to that town and we're going to find him."

His eyes connected with hers and he tilted his head to the side. In the three years he had known Enid, he had come to care for her and respect her as she and Carl grew closer. There were still aspects of her he did not quite understand, but he always appreciated her place in his son's life and now he glad she was here. He needed this connection.

"You think we'll find him?" He entreated and she nodded resolutely.

"We will," she insisted, holding her head up and wiping the rain out of her face. "We're going to find him."

Rosita and Jesus exchanged glances before Jesus pushed Rick away and opened the front passenger door. "Rick, please... let's go..."

Rick looked around to the people around him, seeing the worried looks on their faces. The pain in their faces. The guilt. Closing his eyes, he was bombarded with images of Carl emerging with Maggie from the depths of the prison, his newborn child in hand and his wife's death hanging on them as they approached him. He remembered cutting his way to the chamber where she had perished, finding what was left of her in pool of blood and viscera. Consumed by a stray walker, leaving him with two children, a broken heart, and a shattered psyche. Now, the same despair was beginning to drown him and the only thing keeping him from succumbing completely was Judith's face. He knew, deep down, that he needed to return to her, but just like with Lori, he needed to see for himself. He needed to be certain. He could not return to Judith knowing he had not done everything he could to find Carl...

"Rosita..."

"Yes?"

He looked her straight in the eyes. "I need to see where it happened... and you're gonna to take us there," he ordered calmly and she grimaced, but nodded nonetheless.

"Okay... let's go..."

* * *

Michonne, Andre, and Carl spent the morning completing chores, ruining Andre's plans to play the board game. Michonne was amazed by how much well the two worked together, joking and helping one another as they inspected the meat curing and cheese stations, checked the fences and tied up walkers, ensured the cars were well stocked, and walked the immediate rabbit trails around the school.

While they endured the worse of the storm passing over, Michonne did not want them to venture out further from the school to complete some of the other tasks she and Andre would normally go through, so now Michonne sat reading in the bleachers, looking up occasionally as the sound of laughter. On one side, the horses were grazing on the hay they had lined the area with, snorting and whinnying occasionally as they shifted around restlessly. To her right, Andre and Carl were in a small cleared area under the far basket, jostling and trash talking playfully as they shot hoops. Or in Carl's case, attempted, as he still nursed his injury. Andre whooped when he scored, his laughter echoing around the large gymnasium as Carl slowly chased after the ball.

Michonne felt her chest tighten and her breath hitched at the sound. For the first time in over a year, she saw joy on her son's face as he jumped to block Carl's one-armed shot. It had been forever since she heard him laugh and it brought tears to her eyes as she watched them. It was an amazing scene, to observe Andre just be a kid for a few minutes. To not worry about food. About death. About pain. She realized in that moment that this was Andre's first real friend since the turn, if she could call Carl that. They had only known each other for little more than a day, yet it was clear that both young men were bonding in a way that indicated a deep understanding of their mutual hardships. Even through the joshing, she could see the care Andre took with Carl not to hurt his injury and the fun the teen seemed to get from enjoying a lazy, rainy afternoon. She saw respect written all over their faces for one another and she was simultaneously happy and jealous at the knowledge. It had been a very long time since she had found someone she could respect.

 _Michonne..._

Closing her eyes, she tried to tune out his voice. It had been a long time since she had thought of Mike and now she wondered what their lives would be like if he had survived. Would she and Andre have encountered Ellory? Would they have been assaulted? Outcast? Would they be here?

Looking over to the kids playing basketball, she fiddled with her book and sighed. Would they have met Carl? Would Andre be having so much fun?

Andre laughed again and Michonne could not help but think back to the revelations from the night before about Carl's community and at breakfast when Andre's excitable outburst revealed to her that other children resided at the community that Carl resided at. Despite her insistence to Andre that they remain at the school, for the longest time deep down she knew it was wrong to keep the child away from other people for so long.

Even when they had encountered others during their time at Brookside, and it had only been twice during their residence, Michonne had made a tentative effort to encourage Andre to interact with their guests, all the while keeping a firm eye on the adults who came into contact with her son. Andre had always been enthusiastic about conversing with them, to the point where Michonne had to interject when one of their guests threw a fit about Andre's talkative nature. The argument had ended violently when the large man put his hands on Andre to shove him away, not realizing how adept the child was with the blade his mother had bestowed upon him. Michonne recalled the speed in which Andre had instinctively sliced through his arm, yelping at the unwanted touch while the man's two friends moved to attack. Michonne shot them in the face.

 _"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, mom!" Andre cried as he stood amidst the corpses of their former guests. There was blood splattered all over the place and quickly soaking into their clothes. Michonne dropped her gun and gathered him in her arms, holding him tightly to her, stroking his hair comfortingly._

 _"Don't apologize," she whispered, looking around them to ensure that none of the bodies would reanimate. "Do not apologize. You did nothing wrong."_

 _"Mom, I'm sorry," he sobbed and she pulled away, holding his face in her hands._

 _"Andre, you did exactly what you were supposed to do," she gasped, wiping the tears that streamed down his face while ignoring her own. "You protected yourself and you should never apologize for that."_

"Mom!"

Blinking quickly, she saw that the two had ended their game and were heading over to the bleachers. Smiling, she waved and closed her book.

"Are you two done?" She asked as they approached her. Carl nodded and sat down on a bleacher right below hers while Andre sat next to her. "How's your shoulder?"

"Fine," Carl replied as she leaned forward to take a look at it. "It hurts a little."

Andre nudged his mother. "Mom, can I go down to the stream? I wanted to check the nets I put up."

"Andre, that storm is still pretty bad," she reminded him while pulling the gauze up to see Carl's stitches.

"But Mom!"

"Andre, I'm not letting you go down there by yourself with all of this rain and that herd so close. Besides, I thought we were going to set up your little station in the east wing."

"But we may lose some fish," Andre pointed out, blushing furiously at his mother's mention of his side project.

Carl perked up. "What station?" He questioned, catching the smirk on Michonne's face as she put the gauze back gingerly.

"You didn't tell him?" She chided teasingly and Andre shifted.

"It's nothing," he mumbled, but Carl nudged him.

"Hey, friends remember. I won't tell anyone."

Michonne raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Andre seemed to relax at the words. She watched a small smile appear on his face and he leaned into her, still a bit timid.

"Andre," she prompted, giving Carl a wink.

The child took a moment before he shrugged and sat up straight. "Mom and I-"

"No not me, just you. You came up with the idea and you drew the plans," Michonne corrected lovingly and Andre's face twisted.

"Mom's letting me put up a mural in the east wing," he explained meekly and Carl frowned.

"Why are you so embarrassed by that?"

"Well, it's not very good."

Michonne rolled her eyes and kissed Andre's temple as she stood up. "Andre's very gifted," she proclaimed proudly, motioning for Carl to follow her. "Come, I'll show you."

"Mom!" Andre protested, tugging on Michonne's arm in such a way that reminded her of a time when he used to pull on her skirt hem while she cooked in their apartment back in Atlanta. She missed those times.

"Andre, either we're going to show Carl your artwork, or we're going to spend the rest of the afternoon checking the classroom walkers and counting bullets," she offered and Carl raised a hand.

"I vote art!" He chipped in and Andre scowled.

"Traitor!"

"Do you want to count walkers?" Carl countered and Andre pouted.

"No."

Carl laughed. "Then let's go see your art and then maybe we can go together to check the fishing nets afterwards?"

Michonne's eyes widened as both boys turned to her expectantly.

"Yeah, Mom!" Andre piped in, moving to Carl's side. "Can we please go down to the stream?"

Carl placed a hand on Andre's shoulder and both boys raised their chins high.

"Yeah, Mom!" Carl repeated cheekily, but behind it there was a hint of respect and admiration that was growing the longer he remained at the school.

The sight of the mismatched pair standing in solidarity, defiant in their request to continue having fun, pulled at her heart and she could not help but grin at them. Readjusting her katana, she put her hands on her hips in mock irritation and narrowed her eyes at them.

"Fine," she yielded. "Art first, fish nets second, and then when the two of you come back, you will clean up after the animals, deal?"

"Deal!" The two responded gleefully and she rolled her eyes, jumping down the bleachers with them and pushing them towards the gym doors into the school.

"Great! Let's go see those paintings!"

Michonne snorted when Andre and Carl hurried ahead, racing each other up the stairs. "Carl, be careful!" She called, surprised by his exuberance in spite of his injury. "You don't want to open your stitches! Boys, slow down!"

"Yes mom!" They called back and she smiled to herself, her heart warming at the sound of their combined laughter. As she ascended the staircase, she could not help but think about the last time she had truly seen Andre interact happily with someone else.

 _"Do you want more?"_

 _Michonne looked up from watching Andre playing in the tent with the other children in their emergency camp to see Mike standing behind her, face expressionless._

 _"Want more what? Children?" She asked skeptically as she returned to cleaning her katana. "This is hardly the time to be thinking about that, don't you think."_

 _"Why not? Not like we got anything else to do."_

 _Michonne stopped what she was doing and sighed. Three weeks they had been at that camp and his mood was only getting worse. It was beginning to grate._

 _"There's plenty to do," she retorted, examining her blade carefully. "I'm about to go out on a run and I need you to watch Andre."_

 _"I was going over to Trey's," he muttered irritably and she looked back at him._

 _"Why, to get high again?"_

 _"Michonne, don't do that-"_

 _She stood up, sheathing her katana and slinging it around her chest. "No, Mike, you don't do this. I need you to watch Andre and talk to that Roger asshole about those damned fences. Every time I see them, they're leaning more and he's doing nothing about it. We cannot stay here much longer if they're not fixed," she snapped angrily._

 _"Michonne, lighten up, the fences are fine. Just go out and play superheroes again," he sniffed as he walked over to gather up their three year old, who was laughing excitedly with another boy. "And leave us mere mortals here to fend for ourselves."_

 _"I'm going out there for you and Andre."_

 _"Yeah, whatever," he scoffed, taking Andre's tiny hand and waving it. "Say goodbye to mom. She's got ninjas to slay."_

 _Michonne bristled at his churlish behavior, especially in front of their child, but refrained from commenting on it. Instead, she planted a kiss on Andre's cheek, who giggled at the gesture and kissed her back. "Mike, please don't take him to Trey's tent. Just go back to ours and talk to Roger," she pleaded, but he shrugged and turned to leave._

 _"Just go play samurai, Michonne. We'll be here when you get back," he sneered over his shoulder._

 _"Bye bye Mommy!" Andre called with a grin. "I love you!"_

 _Michonne inhaled sharply and waved at him, struggling to hold back the tears burning her eyes. "Bye baby," she choked. "I love you too."_

"Michonne, are you okay?"

She gasped at the sudden jolt from her memories and wiped quickly at the hot tears that had rolled down her cheeks. Carl waited patiently for her to collect herself, looking down the hall to where Andre had disappeared eagerly into the art studio.

"I'm fine," she whispered and he frowned, worry written all over his face.

"If you don't want us to go down to the stream-"

Michonne shook her head and put a reassuring hand on his arm. "No, it's not that... I've just... It's been a while since I've seen him happy... really, truly happy..." She took a deep breath and offered him a wane smile. "Thank you... five years into this, I think you're his very first friend."

Carl could tell Michonne was struggling with something and he wanted to help. In their brief time together, he knew that all she wanted to do was keep her child safe and he shared her concern. "Michonne... you never answered my question during dinner."

"About?"

"Getting used it? Getting used to this?" Catching her surprised look, he shrugged his good shoulder as memories of his own mother came to him. "Do you want to get used to this? Do you want him to get used to this?"

Michonne was taken aback by his bluntness, but found herself appreciating it nonetheless. "I want him to have a safe place to live, Carl. I want him to be safe." She exhaled and decided to provide Carl with more information. "He lost his father shortly after… After everything happened... his father was bitten and turned right in front of him." Michonne pushed some of her locs out of her face and tried not to cry at the memory of returning to the camp to find her son crying in a locker while her turned boyfriend and his friend struggled to get at him through the metal enclosure. "His father almost killed him and I had to do it..."

Carl felt his eyes sting and he looked down at his shoes. "My... my mom died about a year after the turn, giving birth to my sister," he whispered, startling her into gut-wrenching silence and causing her to sit down at the top of the staircase. "I... I killed her... before she could turn."

Michonne stared at him through surprised eyes. She suspected a dark past, but she never would have guessed that he had to do such a horrible thing. She never wanted to guess.

"I was always running away from her," he muttered, sitting down next to her. "I wanted to just go out and explore, even after the world turned… Her and my dad had problems and I was angry at her for it… I never told her that I loved her."

Biting her lip, Michonne took a shaky breath and pulled her knees up to her chest, turning her head to see Andre standing by the studio door, peering over and watching Carl as tears came to the young man's eyes.

"I'm sure she knew," Michonne murmured, catching her son's gaze. "A mother always knows…"

Carl looked down at his hands and shrugged. "I shot my mom in the head…" His breath hitched and Michonne reached out to take his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. Carl instantly relaxed at the gesture, somehow relieved to discuss it. Even in the aftermath, he and his father had never discussed what had happened, and that was five years ago. Now, with strangers, he felt more at ease than he'd ever been in the van with the other Alexandrians. "She wanted me to be safe too..." He looked up at Michonne, sincerity all over his face. "The best way to stay safe isn't just to teach him how to take care of himself, but to have people around him who care about him…" His eyes clouded over as he thought back to the weeks following his mother's death and how others had helped him while his father had slipped in and out of sanity. "Alexandria. It's a good place. And you and Andre would be safe there."

Michonne bit her lip. "What makes you so certain?"

Carl hesitated and looked at their clasped hands. "I've had to kill people before. Our place has been attacked, overrun, I've seen friends beaten… Bad things have happened to us, but we're still here. We've grown stronger and become family." He offered her a timid smile. "You need family to survive."

Michonne held his gaze, understanding what Carl was trying to say. After over a year of seclusion, the idea of returning to a community, of becoming vulnerable in that way again, it was terrifying. But the young man in front of her resonated with her and she felt her soul seeking to embrace him as it securely cradled Andre.

"I'm sorry about your mom."

They both turned to see Andre leaning against the doorpost, his face screwed up in an attempt not to cry. Carl nodded in appreciation.

"I'm sorry about your dad," he responded sincerely. Michonne saw the boys exchange looks of understanding and her heart clenched at the sight. It was obvious that both her son and their unexpected guest had desperately needed this type of moment. An opportunity to share aspects of themselves that they clearly kept hidden just to survive emotionally in this world. It was a moment even she could not have offered her son and she wondered how much more she had denied him in a savage effort to keep him safe. In that moment, she made a decision.

Michonne held out her other hand to her son and motioned for him to her. When he sat down, she wrapped her arms around him, pressing a kiss against his hair tenderly. "Do you want to go, baby?" She asked quietly and he silently nodded, snaking his arm around her and hugging her closely. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and glanced over at Carl, the look on her face explicit. For the first time since Ellory, two years past, she was taking a leap of faith with him and she hoped unlike the last time it did not end as disastrously.

"Okay…" She squeezed her son tight and prayed she was making the right choice. "We're going to Alexandria…"

* * *

 **A/N: Things are moving quickly and the next chapter may set everyone on a collision course. We'll see what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.**

 **Also, to address the elephant in the room, yes Jessie also exists in this universe, and that's pretty much all I have to say about that. On to the next chapter. I will try to have it out within the next week. Fingers crossed!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Ok, so y'all are crazy with all this Jesse business. I love it! :) This chapter (particularly the first scene) was a bit of a doozy to write and it's gonna be a little mixed in who it focuses on and the seriousness of the conversations (certain relationships will be discussed) as we see two lives converge.**

* * *

"Ow! Mom," Andre complained for the third time within an hour as he sat on the floor in front of Michonne, Carl's book in hand and a plate of jerky in his lap.

"Hush," she chided as she continued to roll his loc in her palms.

"You're pulling it too much," he protested and she nudged him with her foot.

"You want me to stop?" He stuck out his lip but said nothing, allowing her to continue with her retwisting. She could not help but smile at his surely attitude, considering how excited he had been a couple of hours earlier when he and Carl had returned from their trip to the stream. Michonne was amused by their muddy, bloody bodies and triumphant grins as they held high the seven fish they managed to snatch. As they explained it, a sudden gush of water from upstream dislodged a submerged walker, abruptly ending their rainy happy dance by sending Carl flailing into the water. Andre managed to drag him out, but not before dispatching their dead attacker in a manner that spilled entrails all over the two disgusted boys. The storm, which was thankfully beginning to slowly die down, did nothing to help during their trudge back to the school, where Michonne saw them and promptly fell into a fit of laughter, wishing she had a camera.

"Mom."

"Yeah, baby?"

"Are we really going to Alexandria?"

Michonne let go of his hair and leaned to the side to see his face. "I meant it," she assured him and he nodded slowly. She caught his pensive expression and thought briefly of her own father and how Andre resembled him in quiet thoughtfulness. "Are you worried?"

"A little."

She watched him for a moment before returning to his dreadlocks. "I thought you wanted to go."

"I do."

"You trust Carl?"

He nodded again and turned the page in the book. She wondered how much of the novel he actually understood.

"Then what are you worried about, Andre?" She asked quietly.

He was silent for a good minute, wincing as she palmed another loc quickly, tugging at his sensitive scalp in the process. She was about to repeat her question, thinking he had gotten lost in his story when he finally uttered his thoughts.

"I just don't want you to get hurt again, mom," he whispered and she closed her eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths as she listened to the thunder rumble lethargically outside. She bit back her instinct to tell him not to worry about her and instead kissed his temple.

"Andre, listen to me," she murmured into his hair. "Are you listening?" He held his breath and nodded, noting the seriousness in her voice. "I trust that Carl believes Alexandria is safe and we're gonna go and see what's there... but baby," she paused, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him up against her chest in a strong embrace. "If something doesn't feel right, remember what I told you."

"To protect myself and not apologize," he quoted back to her and she nodded.

"That's right," she affirmed as she leaned back and took another loc in her hands.

Andre read another page in his book before he stopped and turned to look up at his mother's face. "Mom, are you scared?"

In that moment, Michonne thought of the fallen camp and Mike's dead eyes. She thought of the numerous people she had seen devoured, the people she had killed. Her mind raced with images of past encampments, brief friendships, cruel awakenings. She remembered being lulled into that false sense of security once. The fake embraces and the imagined intimacy that had blinded her to the world she was now reacquainted with. She remembered Ellory...

Her eyes began to sting as she nodded and inhaled sharply. "Yeah, I'm scared, baby..."

Andre knew whom his mother was thinking of and desired to remove it from her mind. Reaching out, he wiped her tear-stained cheeks before he took her face in his hands. "I love you mom," he asserted softly, causing her to smile.

"I love you too," she replied.

Satisfied with her response, he turned back to the book and began reading again while Michonne collected another loc and proceeded to retwist it. They sat there quietly for a few more minutes before Andre closed his book and nestled against his mother.

"Tell me a story, please," he requested and she laughed.

"Are you done with that one?"

"For now."

"What story do you want?"

"Anansi. You never finished."

Michonne smiled and was about to begin when Carl appeared at the office door.

"There you are," she greeted as he moved over to where they were sitting on the sheeted mats. "You finish everything?"

Carl nodded, holding up his backpack, which he tossed in the corner before sitting down next to Andre. "The fish are drying in the cafeteria and the building is locked down," he confirmed and she smiled.

"Andre showed you where the traps were?"

The teen snorted. "I honestly didn't expect there to be that many. How do you keep them so quiet?" he asked.

"Rats," Andre answered, causing Carl to frown.

"Rats?"

Michonne sat up straight and stretched a bit, looking over Andre's head to figure how much she had left to do. "You put rats along the windows, keep the walkers occupied with the other side of the classroom. We don't make that much noise moving around the school, so they don't get drawn away unless the doors are opened, which only happens if someone trips over one of the traps," she explained, reaching out to brush Andre's dreadlocks out of his face. "It's a little trick we learned a while back…" She drifted off, as if realizing that she had said too much.

"From who?" Carl inquired, but Michonne remained silent.

Andre looked back at his mother quickly, catching the clouded look in her eyes before he turned to Carl. "Ellory," he whispered.

"Andre," Michonne snapped suddenly, pinching his arm.

"Who's Ellory?"

"No one," Michonne muttered as she resumed retwisting Andre's locs. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Carl wanted to pursue the line of questioning, but was holding back. It was clear that he was concerned by her strange response to the name, but Ellory was not a topic she had ever discussed with anyone other than Andre.

"Was he part of that last community you were at? The one you said was destroyed?" Carl whispered.

Pausing momentarily, she captured Carl's gaze. "He was the leader…"

Carl could see that the mere mention of the name had shifted the mood in the room. It hung over them like a guillotine and even now, Carl sensed a desire on Andre's part to talk about it. Michonne looked more conflicted and he waited patiently for her to lead. He would not push it.

"It was the first true community we found after the turn," she began quietly, fiddling distractedly with Andre's hair. "We'd been on the road by ourselves for a good three years, moving from camp to camp. Nothing we came across ever survived…"

"Until Ellory?"

Michonne grimaced. "The name of the place was Fargo." She rolled her eyes. "Shoulda known then that something was up, but… It was the actual name of a town, right outside of the Okefenokee Swamps," she told him.

Carl could see that this conversation was agonizing for her and he shifted on the mat. "We don't have to talk about it…"

To his surprise, she shook her head and leaned forward, pulling Andre close to her as the memories came flooding back. "No… I think it's important that you understand what this means for us… For Andre," she insisted carefully.

"You mean going to Alexandria?"

Nodding, she took a deep breath and continued, "We weren't recruited. We found it on our own, but they made it seem like paradise." She waved her hand around her. "The compound was much bigger than this. They had livestock, fresh water, generators, it was incredible. And Ellory…" She drifted off and Carl noticed Andre visibly tremble in his mother's arms. Michonne kissed his temple and whispered something in his ear, prompting the child to stand up and move over to the office desk in the corner, rummaging around in one of the drawers for something. "They welcomed us in and loved on us and... Ellory and I..." Carl frowned at the insinuation, but said nothing while he waited for her to continue. "I thought it was paradise. They made me believe it was paradise... and then..." She took a deep breath and glanced over at Andre, who still seemed to be searching intensely for something. "They..." She closed her eyes. "I didn't know..."

"Here, Mom," Andre interjected quietly, handing his mother an old frayed rope before he sat back down before her.

Michonne's eyes glazed over. "Turns out it was a cult," she gasped and his eyes widened.

"Kinda like your cannibals," Andre piped in, but Michonne placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Except they didn't want to eat us, Andre…" She looked over at Carl. "They asked…" It was clear this was difficult for her to discuss and Carl reached out to take her hand. She inhaled sharply at the action as she did everything in her power to suppress the tears that threatened to spill out of her eyes. Blinking rapidly, she wrapped an arm around Andre and pulled him back to her while keeping her eyes fixed on Carl. "They wanted my son... They believed that the way to survive turning into the dead was for their leader to take the spirit and..." Her face twisted in disgust and Carl's chest constricted painfully as he watched her struggle to continue the story. " _Essence_ ," she spit out. "Of a young boy…"

For a moment she fell silent, as if suffocated by the memories. To Carl, she looked like she was drowning in them and he squeezed her hand, desperate to help her. Desperate to take away that pain. The very idea that this woman had gone through such an ordeal horrified him, but judging by the looks in her and Andre's eyes, this was not the end of the tale.

"Michonne," he whispered and she took another breath.

"He asked me... After seven months of living there, after months of contributing, and after we…" She closed her eyes and stopped herself from continuing in that direction. "Ellory _asked_ me to give him my son," she rasped, tears pooling in her eyes as the rage began to bubble up within her. "He asked..." She laughed in spite of herself, swiping furiously at the tears that began to fall upon her hot cheeks. "He asked me like he was asking to borrow a car..." She looked down at Andre, who avoided both their gazes as his mother continued. "I said no and they didn't like that answer." She ran her hand through Andre's hair before kissing his temple lovingly. "When I continued to refuse, they strung me up a tree," she told Carl quietly, brushing her fingers over her throat roughly.

Carl released an audible gasp, drawing her attention momentarily. She caught his eyes and saw the tears. "They tied a rope around my neck and tried to hang me from a tree in front of my child," she explained bitterly, as anger seared through her voice. "They were going to kill me in front of my baby boy and then they were going to..." Her voice hitched, but before Carl could say anything, she stood up and shook her head. She took a moment to collect her thoughts and then she squeezed her eyes shut, determined now to tell him everything. She needed to tell him their story. Carl needed to understand what she was risking once again. What she had risked before.

"I have always told Andre to carry an extra knife. Even when he did not have his katana, I wanted him to have a weapon to use and he... he had his knife with him and managed to break away from them, cutting the rope."

"You escaped," Carl inferred and she nodded.

"We ran for _hours_ ," she elaborated softly. "Andre was crying, our legs were bleeding... they would not stop chasing us... so..."

"So?"

Michonne raised her eyes to meet him his gaze and she instantly knew he understood. She could tell even before she told the rest of the story that he knew exactly what she had done and instead of being frightened by it, he seemed honored that they had shared this with him. That they had gifted him this secret. A secret he would keep forever.

"Well... there's no point in hunting down someone if you don't have a place to bring them back to," she muttered, her eyes glazing over with darkness and hatred. "So I circled around and we burned their compound to the ground..."

It was in that moment that Carl realized exactly why Andre had cried when he shared with him his story of the cannibals. Looking over at the younger boy, he instantly saw more than just a kindred spirit. Separated by miles, circumstances, and an earth-ending virus, two brothers had finally converged on the same path and they both seemed to realize it at the same time.

Michonne observed the exchange in heart wrenching silence, once again filled with conflicted emotions. Even as she sat there, submerged in the dread of memories past and her rage at having been fooled, there was something different and at once inescapable about what was being built in the principal's office of Brookside High School.

Without another word, Carl leaned in and pulled both of them into a hug, unsure of how else to proceed. Andre and Michonne immediately returned the gesture, holding the teen close to them.

"I don't think you're gonna have to burn down Alexandria," he whispered and that was all it took. Andre giggled at the comment and Michonne pulled away, releasing a watery laugh as she reached out and wiped both boys' faces.

"Look at the three of us, blubbering," she teased, taking a deep breath and resting hands on their shoulders. "Aren't we a sight?"

When she released them, Andre and Carl sniffed and looked down at their shoes, warmed by the previous actions, but simultaneously embarrassed. For a few minutes they resorted to silence, comfortable that the past had been shared and that an understanding had been reached. Andre settled down back in front of his mother and she resumed retwisting his hair while Carl sat close by and watched for a good fifteen minutes.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked curiously, motioning to Andre's hair. He had known several people in this new world that kept their hair in dreadlocks, but he had never actually witnessed the process of upkeep.

Michonne, thankful to switch gears, raised up one of Andre's locs. "I'm retwisting his dreadlocks," she explained. "Andre wanted to look his best when he went to meet all the other children up at Alexandria."

"Mom!" the child protested, his cheeks growing red once again while Carl smiled.

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone," he assured his brother while Michonne chuckled to herself at her son's self-consciousness.

She twisted a couple of locs before she noticed that Carl was paying extra attention to what she was doing. Smiling, she sat back and looked at him. "Have you ever done anything like this before?" she asked, not wanting to make an assumption considering the circumstances this new world had placed people in, and he shook his head, his face flushed at having been caught.

"No," he mumbled and she leaned over to catch Andre's eyes.

"Do you mind if he helps me with your hair, baby?" she asked and Andre eyed Carl suspiciously.

"Is he gonna pull like you?" he responded and she rolled her eyes.

"You'll be fine, Andre," she answered. "Can he help?"

Andre pouted but nodded, returning to his book while she began to instruct Carl on how to properly twist a loc. The teen watched intently as she demonstrated the palm rolling technique a couple of times until she was sure he could handle it by himself. She then handed him a tiny strand from the side of Andre's head and provided Carl with a chance to try.

"Ow!" Andre cried and Carl immediately dropped the loc, eyes wide in horror.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you," he apologized. "Andre, are you okay?"

Michonne rolled her eyes and patted Andre on the head. "He's just overreacting," she chided, motioning for Carl to return. "He's tender headed, so you just gotta ignore him at some point and work through it." She smiled as Carl tenderly twisted the loc in his palms, trying hard not to pull on Andre's hair. With her supervision, they worked through the top of Andre's head, mostly in silence as Michonne's mind wandered to their earlier discussion.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Can you finish your story?" Andre requested and she nodded, glancing over at Carl.

"I tell him stories sometimes. It helps him sleep," she offered.

"What story were you telling him?"

"Anansi. It's a story about a cunning spider."

Carl's eyes brightened as he thought back to the stories his mother used to tell before the turn. Settling in on the mat, he and Andre waited eagerly for Michonne to begin. Amused by her tiny audience, Michonne shifted in her spot to get comfortable before she started.

"Now, where was I… Oh right, so Anansi…"

* * *

Rosita was jolted awake as the early light began to peek over the horizon. They had stopped sometime in the middle of the night on the side of the highway to rest, much against Rick's protest. It would take them five or six more hours of non-stop driving to reach the town that Carl had perished in and it would do them no good if anyone was exhausted when they reached the overrun location.

For a couple of minutes she sat there in the back of the car, listening intently as she grew accustomed to the darkness that permeated the vehicle. To her left, Jesus and Enid slept upright, while Sasha slept in the driver's seat. Rick was nowhere to be seen. Frowning, Rosita straightened up and looked outside, squinting through the glass to finally see a lone figure sitting a ways away from the car, back turned to them. He was sopping wet from the passing storm, that seemed to be passing quickly over them.

Rosita eased out of the car and carefully walked over to where Rick sat, fingering her knife while she glanced around them.

"Did you sleep at all?" she asked quietly as she lowered herself down beside him on the wet ground, closing her eyes briefly as she acclimated herself to the rain.

He shook his head but did not respond immediately. They gazed out into the wild field adjacent to the highway, quiet and unobstructed by walkers. It was a beautiful sunrise, marred by the uneasiness of Rick and Enid's disbelief coupled with Rosita and Jesus' certainty. Even as they sat beside each other, Rosita was unsure of how to address him. Rick's immediate deranged behavior seemed to have subsided, but it was replaced now with a quiet, determined denial, fueled only by Enid's refusal to buy into what Jesus and Rosita had explained to her. He was a man on a clear mission to find his son and she felt deeply in her resolve to help him get to the town, but she remembered Carl's body lying in the street. She recalled the overwhelming numbers of walkers that pulsed through that town, blocking their path to him and inevitably consuming him in a tidal wave of groping hands and gnashing teeth.

"Were you really going to shoot that boy?" Rosita inquired after a beat, replaying that scene in her mind.

Rick finally blinked and glanced over at her. "The thought never crossed your mind?"

She shrugged, thankful for his honesty, considering the awfulness that surrounded his relationship with the Anderson family. "Of course, but I was never romantically involved-"

"Jesse and I were never romantic," Rick snapped aggressively and she held up a hand in acknowledgment, remembering her own relationship with Abraham. She was surprised by his awareness on the issue.

"So it would be okay to shoot Ron?"

 _Yes_ , was his instantaneous answer, but Rick remained silent for a moment, contemplating her words before he straightened up and looked her directly in the eyes. "Why are you asking about that?"

"I'm just trying to see where your head is at," she replied honestly. It had been three weeks since they had last seen each other and she knew a lot could change in that amount of time. A lot had changed. The Rick sitting beside her now was not the man fretting over his son before he departed on their journey. This was a man consumed by guilt, rage, and just a smidgen of hope. The emotions made for strange bedfellows and Rosita, who experienced only two-thirds of those emotions, could not help but worry about her friend.

"Did you see it happen?" he asked suddenly, pulling her out of her revere.

Rosita observed him for a moment before she turned back to the field. "Rick…" She stopped herself and sighed. There was no point. He would do what he wanted. For as long as she had known him, there had never been a person who could temper him and while his judgment had guided them through some hard times, it would have been wonderful to have someone who could abate his more aggressive behavior. She had witnessed him venture down dangerous paths before when overcome by grief. It had taken concerted efforts by many of them to drag him back out because even with Carl and Judith, he never had one person who could reach him and check him in a way that mattered. She had seen a few try, including Ron's mother, but that had failed, and failed spectacularly. She was surprised Carl and Ron were able to be civil with each other, considering whatever had occurred between their parents was bad enough to prompt Jesse to leave Alexandria for the Hilltop. Rosita managed with him, but ultimately Rick Grimes was a man still in search of something more. He needed more than a friend or sidekick or brother or lover. He needed a partner and he needed his son back.

"I'm going to get you there."

Rick did not respond. There was no need. He could sense the guilt radiating from her and as much as he wanted to find someone to destroy, someone to blame, someone to disembowel, he knew deep down, in a place he did not wish to acknowledge just yet, he could not find ultimate fault in her. If ever he were to return to the Hilltop, the urge to raze the entire Anderson family had not died down with him.

Whatever had happened to Carl, he would have to address in due time. For now, he chose to believe as Enid did. That was all he could do. If he gave in now, he would cease to function. He would have failed, not only Lori but himself, in protecting their child. In the past five years, he had strayed very far from a lot of things he believed in, but safeguarding his children had been the one constant. Now that the status quo, at least when it applied to his immediate family, was threatened for the first time in over four years, he refused to deal with the grief until he could confirm it. He had to see proof, though everything he knew told him that there would be none. If he was lucky, there would be a wisp of hair, a familiar scrap of clothing…. The gun he had bestowed upon Carl before he left…

"Rosita," he whispered carefully and she glanced over at him.

"Yes."

"I need you to be wrong."

She did not respond.

She needed to be wrong as well.

* * *

When Michonne woke up the next morning, she knew immediately that she was alone. It took her a quick moment to adjust to the dim lighting of the rising sun in the office, but when she did she saw that the adjacent mats to hers were vacant. Sighing, she lay back on her gym mat for a while, unsure of the brief reprieve from having to deal with Andre and Carl.

It was always in those quiet waking moments that she thought of Mike and Ellory the most. For those curt minutes, she allowed her memories to seize control, reminding her swiftly and unceremoniously of why she remained alone.

There was something sinister about the way those thoughts crept up on her. The way the senses recalled the touches, the scents, the feelings, prior to the acknowledgement that what had happened should have ceased before it began.

Michonne remembered feeling elated, hopeful, relieved, at the prospect, the imminence, the act of coupling with Ellory.

She remembered the deliverance that arrived when she was finally able to put Mike behind her and engage in what she thought was something new, beautiful, and atoning.

In hindsight, there was nothing to atone for.

Sighing, Michonne sat up from the mat and took a minute to collect her thoughts. In the five years since this nightmare had begun, she had made plenty of mistakes, but none so egregious as giving herself over to Ellory, oblivious to his real intentions.

Time and distance had helped, but ultimately, she burdened herself with that knowledge, unable to move past what she had allowed to happen through her willful ignorance. Each caress, tender kiss, every intonation that she believed was genuine, was intentional, was understanding of who she was, what she had been, what she would be…

A lie.

Closing her eyes, she reached up and touched the contours of her throat, recalling the terror that struck her as she was dragged from bed, half-naked, exposed, unyielding. Strung up for everyone to see, even her son…

She could feel it, even now, her breath, caught in her throat, struggling between her lungs and freedom. She could feel the threads, cutting into her flesh, determined to remove her from life, from dignity, from Andre…

 _"Good morning," he whispered into her ear as she stirred awake._

 _"Good morning," she mumbled back, shifting around so that she faced him. In the light, it was impossible to deny the happiness on her face. The pure elation she had felt at finally making love with a man she had admired… A man she believed would protect her and her son just as much as they protected him… A man she convinced herself that she loved…_

 _"Last night was beautiful," He asserted and she could feel the blush creep up her cheek. It was strange, to feel like a teenager again… To feel completely taken by surprise, to be entering the unknown. With Ellory, she felt as if she could survive this end of days. She and Andre would thrive, as he has said on countless occasions. It was impossible to deny._

 _"It was…" The only response she provided him. At the time, it came with the voice of a woman anticipating something grand. Something life-altering. Something that would justify surviving the horror of this world._

 _"Michonne," he murmured into her ear and she nestled further into his embrace._

 _"Yes?"_

 _There was a brief pause._

She should have known…

"Get your shit together," she grumbled to herself determinedly, in an daily effort to move away from that time, that location, that impasse.

 _Michonne…_

Sighing at sound of Mike's voice, she got up and quickly changed for the day. Looking out the window, she was relieved to find that the storm had passed over, leaving a light drizzle in its wake. With that knowledge, she went over everything they needed to accomplish that day to prepare for their departure. They needed to pack what little she and Andre had in the principal's office, the bombs in the chemistry lab, the food and guns they had stored throughout the school, and begin prepping the animals to be loaded into the trailer. It would take a good two days of continuous work to get all of it moved, considering Carl's limited mobility. They also needed to return to the town they had found Carl and finish up their sweep, in case there was anything useful they might require.

"Mom!"

Michonne grabbed her katana and gun before she headed out, following Andre's voice to the nurse's office where she found Carl bleeding on the examination bed while Andre was pulling out some supplies.

"What the hell happened?" she demanded, her voice dipped in concern as she rushed over to examine Carl's reopened wound. "Andre-"

"I didn't do anything!" the child protested preemptively as he tried to thread a needle.

Carl's face was flush with pain but he shook his head quickly at Michonne, not wanting Andre to get in trouble. "I was helping Andre move some guns," he explained as she fussed over his shoulder.

"You shouldn't be exerting yourself," she scolded before pointing to Andre. "Baby, you need to sterilize that." Andre reached into his cargo pants and pulled out a small lighter, burning the needle point before handing it to his mother.

"Ow!" Carl cried as she began to stitch the injury, prompting Andre to stick out his tongue.

"Now you know how I felt last night," he proclaimed and Carl's eyes widened.

"I didn't stick you with a needle!"

"You pulled my hair," he retorted sulkily, causing Michonne to hide an amused smile as the two bickered.

"This isn't the same thing!" Carl countered.

"It hurt."

"I got shot!"

Michonne rolled her eyes. "Boys, stop," she snapped, glancing over at Andre. "Go back and finish clearing out the guns."

"But mom-"

"Now," she stressed, giving him a clear look. Kicking the ground, Andre stood up and waved at Carl before he left to do as his mother had asked. Michonne shook her head at his attitude and returned to Carl's wound. "You two are trouble."

"We were just trying to get a head start on packing up," Carl gritted through clenched teeth as she finished up with the thread. "I'm sorry."

Michonne frowned. "Why are you apologizing?"

"For causing problems."

She paused from searching for gauze and looked at him, her mind going back to the night before. "Carl…" He caught her eyes. "You're not causing problems. You're bringing us back." Michonne took a deep breath and returned to looking for the gauze. "I told you about Ellory because I let my guard down once in a situation I walked into without any information and the only risk being to myself and my son… sorry…" She eased her touch on his skin as she pressed the gauze on the wound and taped it down. "I also told you because I wanted you to understand what I was willing to do to protect my family. I wanted you to understand what you were getting into."

Carl gingerly touched his shoulder before he quickly put his shirt back on and stood up, watching Michonne as she cleaned up the area. "I know what I'm getting into, Michonne," he told her quietly. "And I'm doing what I can to protect my family."

She met his gaze and smiled, her heart warming at the implication as she held out her arm for him. He came over and welcomed her hug, comforted by the type of embrace he had not felt since his mother's passing four years ago. It was something he had missed without knowing it.

"Have you had breakfast?" he heard himself asking without really knowing why. He just suddenly felt concerned about that.

Michonne smoothed out his long hair and leaned back, raising an eyebrow. "No."

He shrugged his good shoulder. "Andre and I left some for you in the kitchen," he mumbled and she grinned at the gesture.

"Thank you," she replied before kissing his temple. "Okay, I'll go get some breakfast and you go find Andre."

"I thought you didn't want me to help."

"I don't, but something tells me you're gonna do it anyway," she acknowledged. "Just go, but don't strain yourself…" She tapped his chest. "Carl, I'm serious. I don't like doing stitches, so if you pull those damned things out again I'm gonna be very upset."

"Yes mom," he assured her and she tilted her head to the side, conflicted in how she felt about his words.

"And how long are you gonna keep calling me that?" She questioned, somewhat teasingly, but there was an air of seriousness in her tone that he caught. He decided to respond in kind.

"Until I'm told not to."

Michonne stared at him for a moment and then proceeded to head for the door. The ball was in her court and she had no intention of correcting him on the matter. "Make sure Andre doesn't forget the silencer in the top cabinet," she requested over her shoulder, hiding the smile on her face as she hurried out.

"Yes mom!"

For a few hours, the group of three worked quietly throughout the school, moving items into the small loading bay at the back of the school. Michonne spent most of her morning outside, transferring items from the smaller two cars on the soccer field to the back of the RoadPro snow plow. She also walked through the back of the large trailer she and Andre had found several months back on a horse farm miles down the road, mentally mapping how she would load the few animals they had along with the rest of their necessary items. Knowing it would be at least a two to three day journey up to Alexandria, considering their haul and the possibility of running into flooded out roads, Michonne decided it would be best to also include a few walkers in the trailer to mask them.

Now, though, she wanted to head back to the town and finish sweeping it, while also checking on the roads to ensure they would have safe passage out.

* * *

"Why do I have to stay here?" Carl sulked after Michonne delivered her latest news to them while helping Andre get one of the horses saddled up.

"Because you can't ride a horse," Andre retorted, pointing to his shoulder.

"I could drive the car," the teen maintained but Michonne shook her head, smiling as he pouted.

"Carl, you ripped your stitches out earlier, I don't want you dealing with walkers in that condition." She finished outfitting the second horse with saddlebags before she led the horses out of the gym, waiting in the drizzle as Carl and Andre quickly closed the doors. "We'll only be gone for a couple of hours. I want you to work on getting the meat wrapped up and prepared to load up," she told him.

"I'd rather go with you and Andre," Carl muttered, trailing behind her towards the soccer field where Andre was getting behind the wheel of one of the smaller cars.

"And I'd rather you stay here," she countered, handing him the reins as she stood by the open driver side door. "Andre, I want you to take the horses, I'll drive this time."

"But mom-"

"Baby, the last time you drove, our car got stolen," she reminded him and Andre pointed to Carl accusingly.

"His people did that!"

"Our people," Carl shot back, much to their surprise. Even Carl seemed shocked by his own response, but he remained resolute in his conviction of the statement. "They're going to be our people..."

Michonne and Andre stared at him for a moment, soft appreciative smiles on their faces. Taking a deep breath, Michonne motioned for Andre to leave the car and moved them over to where Carl stood with the horses. She handed a set of keys to Carl as he let Andre take the reins.

"Please stay here, Carl," she encouraged and he nodded reluctantly.

For a moment Michonne looked between Andre and Carl, somewhat uplifted by the sight of the boys.

Her boys...

"We'll see you in a bit," Michonne told him while he helped Andre get on the lead horse. She returned to the car and got in, starting the engine. "Andre, I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Okay mom," Andre affirmed, pulling the hood up on his poncho.

Glancing over at Carl, she pointed at him with mock seriousness. "Don't cause problems," she ordered and he smiled.

"Okay mom."

Andre grinned as he and Carl headed for the back fence, unchaining some of the mutilated walkers as they opened the gate. There were only a few dangerous ones wandering around in the back and Michonne tipped a couple over as she drove out towards the road. Before Andre left, Carl pulled his gun out and held it up for the boy.

"Here, take this," he offered and Andre frowned.

"But it's yours..."

Carl grinned. "I know, and I expect it back," he quipped, prompting Andre to return the expression as he tucked the gun away and readjusted the katana on his back.

"No take backs!"

Carl waved him goodbye as Andre swiftly rode out into the forest before he closed the gate again, chained up the walkers, and headed back up to the school, hoping they would return safely.

* * *

When the Alexandria group began driving into the town, they were surprised by how quiet it was. There were clear signs that a herd had passed through, but apart from a few stray walkers shuffling around here and there, it was now abandoned once again. They parked just outside the town near a trail into the forest and entered on foot, guns out and eyes open as they moved slowly down the road.

"Over there," Jesus told Rick, leading them over to the middle of the street where they had last seen Carl. The storm had washed the street clean, leaving nothing for them to find. Rick squatted down and looked over the spot, trying hard not to imagine what Jesus and Rosita believed had happened to his son.

Had he been in pain? Had he been awake? Did it end quickly?

"We were over there," Rosita explained quietly.

Sasha and Enid moved along the sidewalk, peering into the storefronts.

"Maybe he got away after all," Enid murmured and glanced over at Sasha. "It's possible... right?

"Enid, I don't think-"

Jesus whistled, calling their attention to the sound of a car making its way down the road. They moved off of the street and into an alley, peering around the corner to see a sedan pulling into the main street. They could not tell how many occupants were in the vehicle.

"There was someone else in town the last time," Rosita pointed out quietly.

"You think they finally came back?" Sasha frowned. "I thought you said they were on horseback."

"We stole a running car," Jesus admitted. "Must have been more than just a couple of people."

Rick's eyes darkened and he got up to head down the alley in order to covertly follow the car. Enid hopped up and followed him.

"Then we're gonna ask them about this."

"Rick-"

Rosita and Jesus hesitated when he turned to them, but Rosita shook her head. "Rick, we have no idea who these people are and we're not prepared for a fight. We didn't exactly leave prepared for this," she pointed out, motioning to their limited gun supply and ammunition.

Rick pulled out his gun and turned back down the alley, eyes narrowed and determined. "Then stay here, Rosita. We're gonna see what's going on."

Sasha took her rifle out from around her shoulders and followed after them, giving Rosita a pointed look. "We should at lease see what this is," she called over her shoulder.

Jesus and Rosita exchanged glances before they trailed after. When they got to the end of the alley, they caught sight of the car pulling up in front of the familiar hardware store from the night of the megaherd. They hunkered down behind some trashcans, watching as a woman stepped out into the light rain, sweeping her dreadlocks out of her face as she did a quick check of the area. Her eyes lingered on their position, for one moment making them think they had been caught, before she pulled a long, sheathed sword out of the car along with a large, semi-automatic rifle that rivaled Sasha's.

Rick could not help but be momentarily captivated by the woman, startled by how out of place she looked, gorgeous, heavily armed, and on high alert as she moved to the back of her car and opened the trunk, rummaging around for something.

He wondered what the best way to approach the situation. She was clearly alone, but as conspicuous as she was on the abandoned street, there was something stunningly dangerous about her that caused him to hesitate. It was an action the others noticed instantly. Rick never hesitated. Not when it came to these situations.

A sharp whistle stopped them from making any moves as they heard the clopping gallop of a horse approaching before they saw a small figure on a magnificent blue roan pull up beside the woman's car and hop off.

"It's a child," Enid gasped, leaning further as she strained to hear what they were saying.

"We need to do something about this," Sasha invoked and Rick nodded, but was still unsure of how to address it. Deep down, a voice was telling him that this situation was not going to pan out as expected.

* * *

"I was wondering what was taking you so long," Michonne muttered as Andre dismounted and hurried over to her by the trunk. She waited until he was standing beside her to continue as she resumed messing around in the trunk with nothing in particular. "We're being watched."

"Five of them," Andre replied, fiddling with his horse's reins. "I saw a car up the road that wasn't there when we came last time. I checked the roofs after I tied up the other horse in the woods..."

Michonne nodded as she slowly contemplated the options. They could be the people who were here before with Carl, but she had not seen their faces that night and she was not about to deal with that angle without the teenager on hand. Since she and Andre had not been attacked yet, she doubted that they meant them immediate harm, but that did not rule out the possibility that these newcomers could be dangerous.

"Mom, what do you want to do?" Andre asked urgently, well aware that she was already formulating a plan in her head. Michonne caught the eager look in his eyes and she smiled, enjoying these little moments with him even with such precarious situation at hand. Reaching into the trunk, she pulled out a heavy case and unlocked it, handing Andre a couple of sealed glass containers and then grabbed a few zip ties.

"Do you have your lighter?"

"Matches."

Giving him a wink, she glanced around the area quickly before she closed the trunk and helped him back onto his horse. "I want you to sweep the car then light it up," she instructed.

"To the square?" He asked excitedly and she nodded, tapping his leg.

"Yes, but be careful. They probably have weapons," she whispered, her eyes clouding over momentarily with worry. "You may have to kill someone..."

Andre caught her concern and tried to smile. "I know."

Satisfied with that answer, she stepped away and watched him leave, trying hard not to look back over to the dumpsters where she could feel eyes on her. They had done this maneuver several times in the past, but every time she worried. It was a necessary evil, but one she despised for her son.

* * *

"Jesus, you and Sasha follow the boy," Rick hissed. "Rosita, Enid, with me."

Sasha frowned. "Rick, what's the plan?"

"Find out what happened to my son-"

"Rick, he's dead," Rosita snapped suddenly. She had agreed to take Rick this far, but to approach two heavily armed unknowns with no knowledge of who they were and with very little ammunition was ludicrous and she was not about to let Rick get him or the others killed because he refused to believe what she and Jesus had seen. "This town was crawling with walkers and there's no way he could have gotten out. Now I understand that that hurts, but we do not know what we are walking into. There could be more of them out there."

"He's not dead," Enid retorted angrily while Rick's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Rosita-"

A massive explosion shook the buildings around them as a huge mushroom cloud rose above the rooftops.

"What the hell?" Sasha gasped before she took off in the direction of the blast. They ran after her, weapons drawn and eyes darting back to where they had left the strange woman. When they reached the car, it was already engulfed in raging flames. They looked around wildly for the perpetrator, but neither the woman or the child could be seen.

"Jesus Christ," Enid breathed, mouth agape in how huge the fire was.

"Put your guns down," the boy ordered authoritatively, shocking the group into a momentary silence when he appeared partially shielded from behind the burning car.

How was a child his age giving them orders? And where the hell had he come from?

Rick was about to return the demand but the gun in the boy's hand stunned him. It was his Colt Python.

"That gun-"

"Drop your guns!" The boy yelled again, backing up a little when Rick stepped closer to him. "Guns down!"

Sasha and Rosita exchanged glances. "You cannot be serious?" Rosita ventured and the boy pointed his gun at her.

"Three seconds," he announced, stunning them with the seriousness on his young face.

"Hey! Where did you get that gun?" Rick snarled, growing impatient with was beginning to devolve into a ridiculous scene. Five adults being held up by an eight-year-old boy. If he were not so caught up by the gun in the child's hand, Rick would managed a chuckle.

"Two!"

"Now look-"

"One!"

"Wait-"

They jumped when a bullet was fired, striking the ground right at their feet. It took a minute for them to figure out the origin when the woman from behind a large tree, rifle aimed at them while the boy shifted his gun into both hands.

"Put your guns down now," the woman growled, crouched down in a near-perfect firing stance. "Or you're gonna have bigger problems than a burnt out car."

Jesus, who was standing in the back of the group, moved to dive behind a nearby trashcan when the boy fired his weapon right at Jesus' feet.

"Don't move!" The child yelled gruffly while the mysterious woman raised an eyebrow, looking straight at Rick.

"One more move like that, and I'm gonna shoot every single one of you," she warned them from her shielded position. It was clear to the group that they had quickly lost the upper hand in this situation and the look in her eyes demonstrated a clear willingness to follow through on her threat.

When their eyes met, both Rick and the woman paused, momentarily stalled by a brief yet powerful recognition. While feeling was abrupt, in that second Rick felt vulnerable... exposed... awakened...

"Put your guns down," he heard himself proclaim to his companions, unable to pull his eyes away from the woman. The others stared at him in disbelief, but followed his lead as he lowered his weapon to the floor.

"Rick, what are you doing?" Rosita hissed while they all noticed the boy move over to his mother, whispering something to her while pointing to the group, Enid and Jesus in particular.

The woman finally broke her gaze with Rick and swiftly pulled out some zip ties, tossing them over to the group.

"Put those on," she instructed.

"Why, so you can shoot us?" Jesus demanded, drawing her eyes to him. She seemed to be remembering him, as if she had seen him before.

"I just might... typically that's what happens nowadays with car thieves," she replied, motioning to the burning vehicle. "That's also an option if you don't put them on." Before anyone else could speak, she tilted her head towards the zip ties. "Now, two things are gonna happen and they're gonna happen without another word. First, you all are going to tie yourselves up. Second, you," she pointed directly towards Jesus. "You're going to explain to me why you came back here after you shot one of your own people."

Enid's eyes widened and she unconsciously took a step forward. "Did you see Carl-"

"Get back!" The boy yelled worriedly, looking up at his mother. "Mom..."

Michonne looked over their captives tentatively, somehow recognizing them all through Carl's descriptions. "I think there's a couple of things we need to discuss," she whispered, turning back to Rick, who was still looking at her with an curious look on his face. "And there are a couple of things you're all gonna have to explain."

* * *

 **A/N: Worlds collide. We'll actually see Rick and Michonne interact in the next chapter along with an overdue reunion. Thanks again for the support! I really do love reading your reviews.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So... finally finished this chapter. Enjoy!**

Michonne waited until the group of five had finally relented and put on the zip ties while Andre sat nearby with Carl's gun trained on them. He had just returned from carrying off their confiscated weapons to an undisclosed location, leaving them defenseless and bound on the pavement. Their legs had been ordered crossed in a deliberate action to prevent any quick getaway, leaving Rick to wonder where their mysterious captor had learned the tactics.

Was she former law enforcement like him?

Rick watched her closely, taking in how alert, methodical, and aggressive she was in her movements yet simultaneously soft and feeling when it came to interacting with whom he could only assume was her son.

Their eyes met and for the second time it seemed as if they knew each other. His head tilted as he tried to figure it out, but once again she looked away, leaving him to silently wonder what it was.

"What are you doing in this town?" Michonne asked once she was satisfied with their detainment.

"We're looking for my son," Rick answered and her eyes narrowed, trying to rectify the image she had had of Carl's father with the handsome, somewhat crazed version that was before her.

"The boy that was shot," she responded curtly and Enid scooted forward from the sitting position Michonne had forced them into.

"Is he alive?! Have you seen him?" She pleaded and Andre shifted uncomfortably. They could tell he wanted to say something, but seemed bound by some unspoken rule to remain silent during his mother's interrogation.

"Your questions don't get answered until mine do." Michonne could sense the desperation in the young woman's voice and could sense genuine concern from the others, but she was not about to reveal Carl's whereabouts to strangers without confirming their identities with the information her boy had provided her and resolving certain issues she quietly had with how he had been left behind in the first place.

"Where are you from?" she asked and Jesus could instantly see what was happening. There was something incredibly maternal in the way the woman before them demanded answers and he sensed it extended beyond the young boy at her side.

"Alexandria."

Michonne looked over at Jesus and tilted her head to the side. "Why was he shot?"

Rick released a grunt of frustration and shifted restlessly from his position. "Is my son alive?" He snapped impatiently but Jesus quickly interjected, knowing that their leader was too consumed by one goal to understand what their captor was trying to establish.

"One of the other boys with us, he saw… one of you," he motioned between Michonne and Andre. "I'm assuming, and he thought you were trying to attack us. He started shooting, wouldn't stop when he was told, and accidentally hit Carl."

"And then you left him," Andre piped in, much to his mother's chagrin. Rosita noticed the exchange and picked up the look Jesus sent her way.

"We thought he was dead," she whispered apologetically, her statement aimed at Rick just as much as to Michonne. "We couldn't get to him in time, not with all of the walkers…"

But Michonne was not paying attention anymore. She was watching Rick, who was frothing at the mouth at this point. She could see it in his eyes, a steadfast refusal to believe whatever they had told him about the events that had taken place in this town. All at once, she identified with this man, who came not to collect whatever was left of his dead son, but was searching to the ends of the earth like a deranged person for proof of life. Even with Ellory, she could not recall a time where anyone would risk such a journey on contrary evidence and devastating testimony. Now, however, as she observed him observing her, a parent, the only parent of the group she surmised, she felt herself instantly connected to him. It was such an overwhelming feeling that she forced herself to look away and take a step back.

"Mom," Andre whispered, noting his mother's instant distress and moving over to her, one hand on Carl's gun while the other gripped his katana at the ready. They watched Michonne ease a bit and then turn to her child, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

Rick was growing furious with all of this back and forth. The very idea that this woman knew something about his son but was refusing to divulge the information was maddening. He knew she was holding something back. She was clearly knowledgeable about the events, but there was a fierce protectiveness in her eyes that he could not see past.

"Where's my son?" Rick demanded once more.

"Is he alive?" Enid added anxiously.

Before anyone could respond, the sound of an approaching car put Michonne and Andre on the alert.

"Stay here," she instructed her son as she moved off down the road and quickly out of sight, leaving the five Alexandrians with nothing more than tied up hands and an eight year old boy as their guard. For a moment, the temptation to escape flitted through their minds, but as Rick watched the boy cradle his son's gun carefully something shifted in him. The frustration he felt towards Andre's mother dissipated as he observed the child monitor them, keeping an eye out for their surroundings like a trained soldier. Rick recalled his own son at that age, before the turn, and how carefree he had been. How undamaged he had been. How naïve and innocent he had been, even at the start of the turn. This boy was none of those and in one horrified and soul-crushing moment, Rick realized that while he had been so consumed with finding and protecting his son, he had completely ignored the attempts of a fellow parent trying to do the same for hers. Though the desire to find Carl was still strongly coursing through him, Rick sensed that Andre was in desperate need of more connections and he decided to change tactics.

"What's your name?" Rick asked quietly, shocking the others with his sudden calmness. Even Andre looked surprised at first before he sat down on the curb near the still burning car, turning his back to the woods.

"Anthony," he answered softly.

"And your mom?"

"Mom."

Jesus stifled a chuckle at the boy's obvious cheekiness.

"Are you two from here?" Rosita attempted, understanding Rick's desire to ease the situation.

"We're not from anywhere," Andre responded, glancing behind him to catch a couple of walkers heading their way, drawn in by the blazing car. Despite an interest in building relationships, caution seemed to be the order of the day for the young boy. Everything about his responses betrayed some level of rehearsal.

"We're not here to hurt you or your mother," Enid asserted. "We just want to know what happened to Carl."

They caught the brief excitement that Andre was unable to suppress at hearing her words, but he held his tongue. Instead, he tucked Carl's gun in his belt and unsheathed his katana. They watched in awe as he stood up and moved over to the incoming walkers, taking up a practiced battle stance as he waited for them to get closer to him. The Alexandrians could not help but nervously note that both walkers were three times the boy's size and were more aggressive given the flames and nearby meal.

"Hey Anthony," Jesus started, but the boy ignored him. "Anthony, shooting them-"

In one fluid motion, Andre wielded the katana up, slicing neatly through the knees of the walkers. As they collapsed, he turned his weapon and gracefully swung sideways, cutting off the heads and leaving his audience speechless. He swiftly scooped up the heads and tossed them into the burning vehicle before he began patting through the corpses pockets, pulling out lint and rancid cash from one as well as a wallet on a chain from the other. Happy with his find, he unclipped the chain from the wallet and the pants and rolled it up, stuffing into his own pocket, tossing the wallet, and wiping off his sword. The captive group stared at him in silence, unable to deny how impressive he was.

Who the hell was this kid?

* * *

Michonne saw the car speeding up the road and swiftly recognized it as one of their own. Lowering her gun, she stepped out from behind the trees and held up her hand to slow Carl down as he drove up. She glanced behind her towards the burning car, knowing they could not be seen or heard from this distance.

"Carl, what the hell are you doing here?" she demanded the moment he got out of the car, eyes wide and searching her for signs of foul play.

"I heard an explosion and saw the smoke," he explained worriedly, taking hold of her arm. "Are you okay? Where's Andre?"

Despite her anger at him being away from the school, Michonne could not help but smile at his concern as she nodded and placed a hand on his good shoulder. "Carl, I'm fine. Andre's fine," she assured him. "Slow down, you're gonna hurt yourself."

"What happened? What's with all the smoke?"

Michonne's mind flitted back to that brief connection she had with his father just a few moments earlier and she motioned behind her. "We… we blew up your father's car," she answered truthfully and his eyes grew bigger.

"WHAT!?" Instantly he headed for the burning car and she stopped him gently.

"Carl, your father's fine," she snapped before he could yank away. "He wasn't in it and no one's hurt, but before you go over there you need to understand that we ambushed them and have them detained."

Carl's heart was pounding and his head was racing at the thought of his father being close by, but he could tell by the look in Michonne's eyes that she was worried about the whole situation. It eased him significantly, knowing she was concerned for his safety and being truthful about the events that had transpired. It lent credence to his deepening maternal feelings towards her and he took a deep breath, deciding to follow her lead on how to approach what was clearly a very delicate situation for both of them.

This woman who he had come to care about was putting her life and the life of her son into his hands. He could not mess it up by charging head first into unknown confrontation between two cherished groups without ensuring that she was okay first.

"What happened? Did they try to attack you?" he asked and she warmed at his question, shaking her head swiftly to abate his worries.

"No, Andre and I just caught them watching us and made a move before they did," she informed him. "I just didn't want there to be any misunderstanding on that point. I haven't told them where you are yet. They're anxious to see you."

Carl bit his lip. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "No," she answered honestly. "And neither is Andre… But I will be once you see them." She inclined her head and motioned for him to follow her, leading the way back to where Andre and the Alexandrians were.

At first they did not see Carl, as they were too preoccupied with Andre's walker antics to notice Michonne and the teen arrive. But then Andre caught sight of Carl and grinned brightly, relieved to not have to feign ignorance over his brother's whereabouts.

"Hey Carl!" Andre blurted out, causing the others to turn and gape. Without missing a beat, Rick scrambled to his feet, releasing a strangled yelp as he sprinted over to Carl and threw his tied up hands over the teen's head, crushing Carl painfully to him as he broke down sobbing. Michonne was taken aback by such raw showings of emotions and moved quickly over to Andre, grabbing him and pulling him out of the way as the others rushed over to the father and son. It has been a very long time since she had seen someone so open about their emotions in such a public place, especially in front to strangers. At most of the camps and even Fargo, the people she encountered were reserved, even in the face of such a jarring situation. There was something immediately different in the way they interacted with Carl that brought out her motherly instincts as well as led her to relax slightly as she watched Carl so warmly embrace those she and Andre had ambushed.

Carl could be heard trying to reassure his father that he was okay over Rick's wracked cries of guilt and relief. The others watched on, all with tears in their eyes, as the reunion played out slowly. Carl held his father until the man was finally able to gain some control over himself, removing his arms from around Carl only to grab his face, as if to ensure that what he was seeing was real.

"They said you were dead," Rick choked and Carl offered a smile.

"I almost was," he replied, holding up his fingers close together. "Walkers were this close to getting me."

"Carl," Enid cried, trying not to interrupt the father-son moment, but still impatient herself to reunite with him.

"Enid!" Carl gasped, having not really noticed anyone else initially other than his father. They hugged and kissed quickly before the others crowded around demanding answers.

"We saw you fall," Rosita managed through her tears. "We thought… how?"

"I was almost done for," Carl acknowledged, understanding what she was trying to say. In the back of his mind, he had an inkling about who had actually shot him but seeing them return so quickly pushed that to the back burner for now. "Michonne and Andre saved me!" Carl motioned to the mother and son, who had quickly morphed from awkward observers into guards as more walkers began to draw closer to the burning car. Both had their katanas out, slicing away at the groaning creatures as they hobbled over to the group.

"Cool," Enid could not help but utter, echoing the silent wonder the others experienced watching the pair take down multiple walkers with ease.

"Carl," Rick whispered, unable to peel his eyes away from Michonne, who was carrying heads over to the vehicle while her son searched the beheaded corpses for anything useful. "Who the hell are these people?"

Grinning proudly, Carl pulled out a knife and began freeing them from the zip ties. "New Alexandrians."

Before Rick could even begin to process the consequences of such a statement and question why his son trusted the very people who had bound them up in the first place, Michonne approached them, eyes darkened and urgent.

"Ok, so now that the pleasantries are out of the way, Carl, are they okay?" She asked the teen, riling Rick up at the implication of the question.

"Are we okay? We should be asking you the same thing!" He growled before Rosita grabbed his arm, motioning towards Andre, who was watching the exchange attentively with katana in one hand while his other rested on Carl's gun. They did not have their weapons and it was clear that Carl was the only reason they had survived thus far.

Carl quickly nodded, stepping in front of his father to create a barrier between the two agitated parents.

"Everything's fine, Michonne," he assured her and with a deep breath, she trusted his assessment, despite Rick's outburst.

"Good, then we need to leave," she informed them. "We'll have more walkers in the area soon, with that explosion."

"Whose fault is that?" Jesus piped in and Michonne knew instantly she would probably end up liking the man.

"Yours," she snapped, motioning to Andre. "Go get the horses."

"Who the hell firebombs a perfectly good car?" Jesus demanded, ignoring the looks he was getting from a knowing Rick.

Michonne looked him straight in the eyes. "When, in the five year history of this shitshow we are all living in, has letting captives have an escape ever worked for you?" She shot back, leaving them speechless as Andre snickered behind her. Catching the sound, she turned back and put a hand on her hip. "Horses, now."

Andre pouted and moved to leave, but not before he gave Carl a quick hug, surprising the others while Michonne sheathed her katana. As the Alexandrians tried to catch up, she motioned Carl over to her, placing a soft hand on his good shoulder.

"Are you okay to drive?" He nodded and she pointed to the group. "Then you take them back with you. I want you right behind me the entire time, understand? If I see you change course-"

"You'll assume something's wrong," Carl finished knowingly and she tweaked his ear.

"I'm serious," she whispered and he smiled.

"So am I," he responded. "I'll be right behind you."

Michonne glanced over at Rick, who was watching the exchange with a strangely pained look on his face. It was like he was seeing something he had not seen in a very long time and he did not know how to feel about it.

"Make sure you are," she muttered, turning to the group. "You're coming with us."

"Where are our weapons?" Sasha asked and Michonne shot Carl a pointed look before she turned and walked off towards where she had left her car.

The Alexandrians did not like this response.

"Carl-"

The teen held up his hands and stopped them from following Michonne. "We need to get out of here," he reminded them. "I'll explain everything when we get to the school."

Rosita frowned. "The school?"

They were taken aback by the grin on Carl's face. "You have to see this!"

* * *

The drive back to Brookside was filled with urgent questions about who Michonne and Andre were and about what had happened after he had been shot. Carl explained as much as he could about what had transpired over the past couple of days without going into detail about the more intimate moments he had shared with the pair. He told them nothing about Ellory, Fargo, or how much he had shared with the pair about Alexandria. The whole group did not need to know.

He also held off on mentioning that he had already extended an offer of residence to the pair. As happy as he knew his father was, there was an established process to bringing new people back to Alexandria and Carl had not followed it at all. It could cause problems and Carl wanted them all to see the possibilities before breaking the news.

When they finally arrived at Brookside High School there was an audible gasp at how fortified the premises was up close.

"We've been here before," Sasha pointed out as she and Jesus leaned forward in their seats. "Remember, we came through about seven months ago."

"We thought it was overrun," Jesus admitted, impressed by the carefully hidden chains on the perimeter walkers that failed to betray a presence inside, yet drew enough walkers to the fences to maintain the façade.

"You're telling me that woman and her child set this up by themselves?" Rick asked, remembering how difficult it had been for his group to take the prison a few years back. How could two people master such a massive complex by themselves?

Carl heard his father's skepticism and smiled as he pulled through the gate Andre held open, tailing Michonne to the soccer field.

"Dad," he caught his father's eyes. "Michonne and Andre… They belong in Alexandria."

Rosita exchanged glances with Sasha and Jesus. Carl had never advocated for someone to join their community so explicitly and quickly before. If anything, he was often more distrustful of strangers than his father and was typically cold to them in the beginning. For him to plead a case for two unknowns, especially ones who had staged such an elaborate and dangerous ambush in order to conduct an interrogation, was novel and it spurred them to find out more about their new acquaintances.

"We'll see, Carl," Rick muttered, but even as he said it, he saw Michonne step out of her vehicle, eyes instantly finding his. She held his gaze for a brief, stimulating moment before she broke away and went to intercept her son, rifle in hand. Carl noticed the look but said nothing as he got out of the car, grinning as Enid hopped out and slipped her hand into his.

"I missed you," she whispered, as the others exited the vehicle, looking around the school property in shock. The grounds were well maintained for the type of neglect one typically saw at abandoned spaces. They took in the garden and could not help but be impressed by the few things they had seen.

"Carl, keys," Michonne called as she led the second horse up the incline towards the gym. Andre cantered his horse over as well, dismounting near his mother and tugging on her shirt.

"Are they gonna stay with us?" He asked and she nodded.

"They're Carl's family," she responded so only he could hear. "If Carl trusts them, we need to as well."

"Are you scared?"

Michonne stopped in her tracks and looked down at Andre, eyebrows knitted in confusion. He looked excited and concerned at the same time. "Why do you keep asking me that?" She demanded as Carl approached to see what was going on.

"Because at Fargo, you said you weren't scared," he reminded her somewhat accusingly. There had been plenty to fear, even on a subconscious level, but in her desire to give Andre a community after years on the road, she had unwisely ignored her instincts. It almost cost them their lives.

Michonne held up her hand to stop Carl and the group from getting closer as she quickly kneeled before Andre, taking his shoulders in her hands. "Andre, I'm not going to let anything happen to you," she promised. In that instant her mind flashed back to that moment before they entered Fargo. To that moment when she disavowed herself.

" _Mom," Andre whispered urgently, once again tugging on her shirt as they approached the gate._

" _Yes baby," Michonne murmured distractedly. She was overwhelmed by what she witnessed as the doors opened, allowing them to see the expansive community within._

 _"I'm scared," he admitted and she looked down at him, unsure of herself suddenly. She was about to answer when she caught sight of a tall, slender man approaching then. There was something unsettling yet intriguing about him. A mysterious nature that gnawed at the back of her mind with alarms. "Mom," he cried softly, demanding an answer. "Are you scared?"_

 _"No," she attempted to assure him. This place was something they needed. They needed these people. "No, I'm not scared."_

Taking a deep breath, Michonne glanced over at Carl and his family. She could see the awe in their eyes. The surprise at what she and Andre had accomplished and as she watched Rick look around him, taking in his surroundings, she felt an awakening within her. There was something about this man that stirred a part of her that had remained dormant since Mike's passing. It was a strange understanding, an unknowingly familiar bond that drew her in. His piercing blue eyes drilled into her soul and made her feel vulnerable. Naked. Hot…

Shuddering, she tore her eyes away from him and looked down at their feet. "Andre, we need this… We can't stay out here by ourselves for the rest of our lives…." She looked over at Carl again. "I've done my best to keep you safe, but Andre… We can't do this forever."

Smiling, she reached out and brushed his deadlocks out of his face. "Andre, baby… Didn't you see how easy it was for us…" She tilted her head and caught her son's eyes. "Did Ellory or his people ever go back for someone?" Andre shook his head and she tapped his chest. "I told you to always follow your gut and what does it tell you now?"

Andre was quiet for a moment and then instantly she saw him relax. As much as she taught him to always be thoughtful, it was equally important to rely on instincts, something she had willfully ignored in a misguided attempt to give Andre a home once. Now, she was following it and just like with Andre, she felt deep down that she was making the right decision in regards to Carl and his people.

"They need us just as much as we need them," she indicated and Andre smiled.

"They're really bad, aren't they?"

Michonne pinched his cheek lovingly. "I think they just weren't prepared for us… Which is always a good thing."

"Never let them know," Andre asserted and she hesitated, feeling Rick's eyes upon her.

For several brief seconds, Michonne stood on the edge. Her past had been laid bare before a young man she barely knew but immediately trusted. Her love for her son, exposed for their new guests to manipulate should they see fit, and her instincts once again put to the test. Even with Ellory, never before had she felt so raw in front of another human being after the turn. Never had she felt such instantaneous intimacy and as she stood on that precipice she wondered if it was possible to be so completely attuned to a stranger.

"Everything okay?" Carl asked giddily, walking up to where they were while the others hung back a bit to give the pair some space.

Michonne smiled and held out her hand for Carl to take, thankful to see him so excited by his family's reunion. "We were just having a brief crisis."

"It wasn't a crisis," Andre countered. "I just wanted to be sure."

Carl caught the resolution in Michonne's eyes and took her hand, crouching down as well. "Andre, I trust all of you with my life and I'm trusting you with their lives," he assured the boy. "Can you handle that?"

Andre puffed out his chest at the mere idea that he could not manage that responsibility. Michonne shot Carl a grateful glance, giving his hand a squeeze while Andre took the keys from Carl, muttering under his breath about how his accomplishments today in ambushing the Alexandrians.

"Of course I can handle it," he grumbled as he moved to the door. Michonne reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him briefly.

"Andre," she whispered and he pouted.

"What?"

"I love you, baby," she informed him with a smile and he grinned at her.

"I love you too, mom," he responded, giving her a swift kiss on the cheek before he turned to the door and roughly twisted the key. Michonne and Carl exchanged smiles and stood up; Carl returning to the group while Michonne led the horses into the gym.

"Mind the pigs!"

It took the Alexandrians all of one minute to fully realize why Carl was adamant about bringing Michonne and Andre into the fold. From the gym's barn set up, to the cafeteria, the impressive storage of firearms and food, and the elaborately effective defense system they had set up, it was mind-blowing how two people, one of whom was a child, had managed all of this by themselves without detection.

As tentative as they all were about their former captors, the more Rick and the group saw of the school, the more they understood the potential of recruiting such survivors. The strength of Alexandria was not just about numbers, but about finding strong, intelligent members to help protect the community. It seemed as if they had found two.

Michonne kept the tour brief, letting an excitable Andre do most of the talking while she observed the group quietly. They had never had so many people in the school before and while she was resolute in her decision to take her son to Alexandria with Carl, she was doing her best to ease the apprehension she felt about this sudden onslaught of guests. After a year of relative seclusion, it would take a while for her to get used to the idea of community again. But for Andre's sake and Carl's, she was willing to try.

"And this is where you will be staying," Andre announced when they reached the unused band room on the west side of the school. Michonne pulled him to the side, watching as the group stepped into the room suspiciously, eyeing the area before turning to Carl.

"Is this where you've been staying?" Enid asked curiously and he glanced over at Michonne, who was holding Andre close to her.

"Um… no, actually," he answered and Rick frowned.

"Where were you this whole time?"

Michonne caught his gaze. "Recovering comfortably in the principal's office," she informed them. "There's not enough room up there for everyone and I'd prefer if you were all together… Unless that's a problem?"

Rick stared at her for a moment. It was not lost on him, as they toured the school, how familial Carl had become with Andre and Michonne in such a short amount of time. He had picked up on a couple of things while they were in the town, but watching Carl and Michonne interact now, he could not help but notice the motherly way she treated his son. The protectiveness he had witnessed her establish over her son had clearly been extended to Carl and he was unsure of how to feel about it.

Yet something told him that challenging her about it or their current living arrangements would only aggravate a tense situation. They were here because of Carl and Carl alone. For them to have survived this long into the turn, Michonne and Andre were clearly not ones to just take anyone in, so it stood to reason that whatever bond of trust that was cultivated during Carl's stay at the school was delicately being extended to Rick's group. He would do well not to push it with her. At least not now. There would be plenty of time to get better acquainted later. For now, he had the slight suspicion that she was providing them with an opportunity to regroup and connect with Carl while she did the same with her son. He would take it.

"This'll be fine," Rick conceded as he looked her directly in her beautiful brown eyes, again feeling the momentary pull to her that had caused him to hesitate in town.

Her lips parted slightly and for a split second he swore he saw her begin to move into the room before she caught herself, blinked, and turned away to look at the others. "Good," she muttered brusquely. "Andre and I will grab some mats for you… Carl."

They all watched the young man jump to attention and hurry over to the doorway, surprised by how she interacted with him. The two conversed quietly for a minute before Michonne turned and left, Andre trailing her reluctantly.

"They're not very trusting," Jesus observed as Carl returned to the room, moving to stand next to Enid and his father.

"They've been through a lot," Carl shot back quickly and Sasha raised an eyebrow at the young man's defensiveness.

"You really want them to join Alexandria, don't you?"

Carl frowned. "Is that really a question now?"

Rick shook his head, turning to Carl and taking his face in his hand, still elated that he was alive. Looking into his son's eyes, Rick could see the determination written all over him and a pleading to accept these new people into the fold.

"No," Rick muttered, surprising the others as he took a deep breath. "It's not…" He looked over at Rosita. "If Carl trusts them, we should too."

Rosita was quiet for a moment, looking between Rick and Carl. She knew Rick was still reeling from discovering his son was still alive and was probably allowing those emotions to sway some of his decision making at the moment. Normally, under those circumstances, she would counter him and encourage them to get more information, but as hurt as her pride was at having been ambushed by an eight year old, she could not deny the advantages of having Michonne and Andre at Alexandria. From everything she had seen, Carl had somehow managed to luck himself into the good graces of two of the strongest survivors she had ever encountered in this new world. They were all fortunate that the mother-son team were as generous and open to outsiders.

Even if Carl had survived the shot, he could just as easily run into people who had no interest in his wellbeing.

"Fine," she responded, putting her hands on her hips and looking around. "So what's the plan?"

All eyes fell on Carl, who shifted uncomfortably before Enid slipped her hand in his, giving it a quick squeeze. Warming at the gesture, Carl came clean.

"Well… I've sort of already told them they could come to Alexandria."

Sasha snorted. "Seriously?"

"I didn't know you were coming. We were actually planning on heading back in the next couple of days… Michonne and Andre were going to come with me," he explained. "We've been packing everything up."

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation and Andre opened it without waiting for a response, sticking his head in.

"Carl, some of the mats are out here. Mom says to come to the cafeteria for food when you're ready."

Enid's stomach grumbled loudly at that and Carl held back his laughter while Rosita rolled her eyes.

"Well, considering you burned up all of our stuff," she intoned and Andre shook his head, opening the door to reveal the rations backpack that had been in the trunk of their vehicle, along with the weapons he and his mother had confiscated from them earlier.

"No we didn't," he replied with a smile, entering the room and surprising everyone when he approached Enid. "Are you Enid?" he asked, though it seemed as if he had already determined that she was regardless.

"Yes," the teen responded, glancing over at Carl curiously.

"Do you like to play Monopoly?"

"Andre!" Carl scolded.

"What? I want to know if she can play!" the child retorted. "Can you?"

"She's not playing Monopoly?"

"The board game?" Enid asked, clearly confused.

Carl shook his head and pushed Andre towards the door. "Yes, and no we're not playing," he snapped.

"Why not! We've got enough people," Andre complained and Enid smiled.

"I don't mind playing," she quipped and Andre's face brightened significantly while Carl rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"It's not the same game and he's a horrible banker," Carl advised her, causing her to laugh and Andre to stick out his tongue at the teen, grabbing Enid's hand to lead her away from her boyfriend.

"I'm a good counter," Andre shot back as they disappeared out of the room.

"It doesn't matter when you cheat!" Carl hurried after them, leaving the adults alone in the band room.

"Rick, I'm sorry we put you through this," Jesus whispered, breaking their silence.

Rick glanced over at him and shook his head. "You didn't know…"

Sasha moved to the door and glanced out into the hall where a stack of gym mats waited. She caught Carl disappear around the corner. "It looks like this was a good thing…"

"We'll see," Rick muttered, drawing their attention.

"So you don't trust them?" Rosita queried, catching his eyes.

Tilting his head, Rick chuckled quietly to himself and followed Sasha out the door. "This won't be the first time I had to put my faith in someone who ambushed me," he responded pointedly.

"And you made a good friend," Jesus added to his defense while Rosita patted him on the back.

"Also made a few enemies."

"Let's hope this is the former without the latter," Rosita suggested, attempting to lighten the mood. "Carl's safe and these seem like tough people. We could use them at Alexandria. Besides," she added, voicing what the others had been thinking since they found out it was only Michonne and Andre in the huge school. "This far into the turn, with just the two of them, chances are they've killed all of their enemies…"

* * *

Michonne looked up from unwrapping some of the venison jerky when Andre burst through the door, laughing hysterically. She smiled when she saw Carl enter closely behind him, along with Enid. Despite her reservations earlier, she was quickly coming to grips with the idea of these people in her space and Andre's good spirits helped ease her worry. The three approached her and Enid quickly stuck out her hand.

"I'm Enid," she offered.

"Michonne," the woman breathed coolly before Enid shocked everyone by pulling Michonne into a quick, but strong embrace.

"Thank you," she blurted out as she swiftly let go. "I… Carl explained how you helped him… saved him…"

Michonne was about to answer when the door opened again and the others stepped in, returned weapons safely in place and once again in awe of the makeshift cheese station and meat curing area. She watched them move closer, her eyes catching Rick's momentarily before she shifted and motioned to the empty cafeteria table.

"Sit," she muttered to Enid. "No need to thank us."

"There's every reason to thank you," Rick interjected, having caught the last part of her statement. "You saved my son."

Michonne's eyes flitted to Carl and they all caught the motherly look she gave him before she sighed and pointed to the table. "Sit down. Carl said it was a two day drive from here to Alexandria. You made it back here in less than three… something tells me food wasn't exactly a priority."

Enid's stomach grumbled yet again, prompting Carl and Andre to giggle while the others quickly sat, not realizing how hungry they were until they smelled the jerky and drying fish wafting through the room. Carl moved to stand beside Michonne, helping her unwrap some of the jerky he had just tied up that morning.

"Bon appetite," she offered, laying open some unwrapped jerky in front of them. "Andre, go grab some apples."

"You have apples?" Sasha asked incredulously.

Michonne motioned behind her. "There's an old apple orchard that the school planted just beyond the forest. We do our best with it and sometimes we get lucky," she replied while Enid waved at the boy before he could disappear into the kitchens.

"You said your name was Anthony," she called and Carl snorted back laughter. Realizing the lie, the others turned their eyes to the boy as well expectantly and he grinned back at her.

"It is."

Enid glanced over at Carl and then Michonne. "But it's Andre..."

"It's both," the child corrected timidly, looking over at his mother for approval. She gave him a slight nod and he looked back at the Alexandrians. "But everyone calls me Andre."

"Then why Anthony?" Rosita asked curiously, also wondering why a boy that young would even begin to lie about his name.

"Because he doesn't answer to the name Anthony," Michonne explained curtly, motioning for Andre to continue into the kitchens.

Enid frowned. "I don't understand-"

"So he won't respond when he's called," Rick interjected, drawing Michonne's gaze and immediately understanding the intention behind the tactic.

Jesus looked between Michonne and Rick, who he observed watching Michonne as well. He had noticed Rick's hesitancy earlier in town and at first had attributed it to high emotions and nerves, but the more he watched Rick around Michonne, the more he quickly realized that something deeper was happening. Glancing around the table, the others did not seem to pick up on it and he held his tongue. Perhaps he was just imagining things.

Blinking quickly and feeling her body grow warm under Rick's stare, Michonne looked away and coughed, straightening up. "That's right," she muttered before she pointed to the table. "Eat."

Carl looked surprised by her statement. "You didn't give me a fake name," he pointed out and she offered him a wane, slightly embarrassed smile.

Reaching out, she touched Carl's shoulder lightly and gave it a gentle squeeze. "No, we didn't." She motioned to the table. "Eat something," she whispered, looking at his shoulder pointedly as she turned to walk away. "You need to keep up your strength."

"Yeah mom," he responded unthinkingly, unaware of the shock that fell upon the guests at the table. Not catching what had just happened, Michonne left them to go check on Andre in the kitchen. Carl watched her go before he turned to face the stunned table.

For the most part, they all just looked incredibly amazed by his word choice, but Rick…

Rick looked like he'd seen a ghost and for the life of him, Carl could not understand why.

"What?"

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so not quite the explosive introduction I wanted, but I hope you all enjoyed it anyway. There was a bit of interaction, but I do plan on having Rick and Michonne actually talk with each other next chapter. The next chapter will focus on packing up the school and heading for Alexandria, while the Alexandrians get to know more about their new recruits.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you all so much for your patience. Took a little while, but I finally got this finished. This chapter did not actually go the direction I originally intended, but let me know your thoughts. Please enjoy!**

"What? What did I say?" Carl asked, genuinely unaware of how his brief conversation with Michonne had inspired such a reaction.

Enid shifted and pointed to the door Michonne had disappeared into. "You called her mom… is all…"

It took Carl's brain a moment to catch on to what Enid was implying and realize why his father looked so shaken. At first he just stared, unable to effectively explain what had taken place. As quickly as he had come to care for Michonne and Andre and genuinely utilize the word 'mother' towards her, it had not occurred to him until now that his father would react badly towards it. Over the past four years, they rarely talked about Lori. The tensions and betrayals leading up to her death and Carl's hand in the nature of her passing left little in the way of peace. Despite still wearing his wedding ring, Rick seemed all to ready to avoid discussing anything to do with motherhood or his late wife. The community nature of Alexandria granted him the ability to keep Judith from becoming attached to any particular person enough to consider them more than a caretaker and for the most part, Carl never attributed any one woman's closeness with him, his sister, or his father as an indication of anything close to a familial bond. Yet, in such a short amount of time, Michonne had managed to fill a void for Carl that Lori had left and it was obvious that Rick was incredibly distressed by this sudden shift.

"Yeah," he finally breathed pathetically, unable to brush it off as a mere joke or excuse it with a pithy remark. That unwillingness only seemed to anger his father.

"She's not your mother…"

The atmosphere in the room instantly became charged with four years of unspoken words and Rosita quickly stood up, grabbing Enid's arm and pulling her up as well.

"We… um…" Equally unable to think of a good excuse to escape this situation, Rosita rolled her eyes and pointed everyone who was not a Grimes to the door. "Let's go."

The two men stared at each other silently as the others evacuated the cafeteria. When the door finally swung shut, Rick stood up and approached his son.

"What the hell is going on, Carl?"

Suddenly unsure of himself in the face of his father's intensity, Carl backed up a bit and averted his gaze. "Nothing," he muttered. "Michonne is just-"

"She's not your mother."

This time, it sounded as if Rick were trying to convince himself more than speaking to Carl directly, which only riled him up.

"She saved my life."

"I'm not denying that she's a good person," Rick snapped back. "But your mother-"

"Is dead, and I killed her," Carl interjected darkly, effectively shutting his father up. For several seconds they stood there in painful silence as Carl's words suffocated the air out of the room. Carl watched several emotions wash over his father's face as he struggled to understand what was happening. In a matter of days, something important had shifted in his son and he had missed it completely, which was probably what frustrated him more than anything. He had been excluded from whatever event that caused Carl to, for the first time in four years, move on from that painful experience and open his heart to that type of relationship again. If Rick were going to be completely honest with himself, which he was not at this point in time, he may have been experiencing some form of jealousy.

"You've had people to take care of you, Carl," Rick mumbled disjointedly and Carl sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Like Jacqui? Beth? Andrea? Carol, Rosita, Sasha, Maggie?" His eyes darkened as he met his father's gaze. "Like Jesse?" he added accusingly and whatever color was left drained from Rick's face, but Carl was not about to let that change his course. "I know… but Michonne…" He took a moment to better articulate his words. He did not want his father to misconstrue the situation. "For the last couple of days, it felt like before…"

Rick's eyes narrowed in confusion and Carl shrugged before instantly regretting it, touching his wounded shoulder gingerly.

"It felt like before everything happened," he attempted to explain. "Before the prison. Before mom and Shane…" Rick's eyes clouded over and he became deathly still. "Before mom got pregnant…" Sniffing a bit, Carl wiped the tears that came to his eyes at thinking of Lori. "I missed that."

Carl could see that his words had brought up an aspect of their past that his father clearly had not dealt with to its full extent and as much as Carl wanted to rebuke his father for his unfair appraisal of Michonne, a quiet voice told him to let it go for now.

Taking a shaky breath, Carl motioned to the kitchen door. "I won't say it-"

"Ow! Mom!" Andre's startled words cut in before the boy stumbled out of the kitchen, rubbing his arm ruefully. He held up a small basket to them, shooting annoyed glances back into the kitchen. "I found the apples… where is everyone?"

Rick stared at the boy briefly, once again amazed by how innocent he looked despite what he had witnessed earlier. For a moment, an instinctive desire to protect the child rose up in him, but it was swiftly quashed by the emergence of his mother from the kitchen, holding an apple of her own, eyes shadowed and wary. When she met his gaze, Rick could instantly see she was upset and his pulse quickened.

"Andre, go find the others," she instructed flatly, keeping her eyes on Rick. "Don't want them to get lost… or open the wrong door."

Carl noticed the look between Michonne and Rick but said nothing of it again. Instead, he quickly stepped away from his father and motioned to the exit. "I'll come with you," he offered, thankful to have an out. Andre noticed his red eyes and instantly took his hand in concern, moving around to get a better look at Carl's face.

"Are you okay?" he demanded, his voice dripping with worry. "Carl-"

"Andre," Michonne interrupted, breaking her connection with Rick momentarily to look over at the boys. "You and Carl go find the others. I was serious about the door thing."

Shuffling his feet impatiently and pouting his lips, Andre huffed. "Okay mom."

"Carl."

The teen glanced up at her. "Okay mom," he responded, once again impulsively. He glanced over at his father before he ruefully followed Andre out of the cafeteria, missing the darkness that fell over Michonne's stoic face.

Turning to Rick, she approached him and placed a hand over her hip. "Are you and I gonna have a problem?" she asked bluntly, not caring to dance around the issue. It was obvious to Rick now that she had overheard the entire conversation between him and Carl and the look she was giving him dared him to address her in the same way he had his son. It simultaneously intimidated and aroused him. The conflict did not sit well.

"No," was all he could respond with, his eyes flitting momentarily away from hers to land ever so briefly on her full lips.

Michonne caught the look and felt her body warm under his steely gaze. However, she was not about to let that keep her from establishing one clear fact about what she was sure would be a very tenuous relationship.

"Good," she whispered, tilting her head defiantly. "Then I'm gonna go check on my son… he just got shot and his bandages need changing." Before Rick could respond, she raised the apple she had been holding and dropped it in front of him, holding back a chuckle when he barely caught it. Looking him up and down, she shuddered and then turned to leave. "Kitchen's closed," she called over her shoulder, slamming the door behind her and leaving Rick to think very carefully about what had just transpired.

* * *

It did not take long for Michonne to find the others in the gym, admiring the horses while Andre seemed to be attempting to rope some of them into a game of basketball. Despite the previous tension with Rick, she could not help but be amused by her son's antics. She knew it came from a place of starved connections. She had kept him away from people for a long time and now he was, in his own roughly planned way, trying to make friends and figure out how to talk to people his mother had approved of. It was comforting to see that Carl's family was taking to him so well, Enid especially. The young woman was helping Andre clear the area while Jesus dribbled the ball, seeming to test his recall of the game.

Carl stood to the side, watching them with a distant look on his pale face. She had seen the hurt at his father's words when she had entered the cafeteria, but he had tried to hide it from her and Andre. Her heart constricted at the thought of his pain though she tempered her own immediate and instinctive desire to villainize Rick in this situation. She had also witnessed the conflict in his face and based on her limited understanding of Carl's mother's death along with what she had overheard between the two, clearly there were unresolved issues.

While there was no denying that what she felt for Carl was a motherly connection, Michonne understood the fear of having another person enter that parental space in a child's life, especially after it had been obliterated by a sudden loss. After Mike's devastating death no man, including Ellory, ever got close enough to Andre for him to entertain the thought of a father figure. Unlike Carl's long list of surrogates, Andre never had someone who could mentor or care for him in such a way. Even with Ellory, Michonne had controlled their interactions and managed to manipulate the circumstances in such a way that Andre never once considered the man as a father, despite how close he had gotten with Michonne.

She did not know how she would react would Andre one day refer to another man as his father.

Watching Carl, she recalled the moment Rick had seen his son after being told he was dead. The relief, joy, pain, and fierce protectiveness with which he had grabbed his son had been stunning to witness, not just for the vulnerability of the moment, but due to its novelty.

Despite his interest in the boy, Ellory had never been protective or even caring towards him. In the supervised interactions they had had, Ellory had done well in learning about Andre and somewhat gaining his trust, but the paternal instinct was never there. Not in the way it had been there for Mike and most definitely not in the way it had been there for Rick.

Thinking of Mike and watching Andre, she instantly knew she would probably react the same if she ever heard Andre call another man father. The idea only carried with it the painful betrayals and losses of the men who were supposed to have been there for him in the past. She could only imagine the same was true for Rick Grimes.

She thought back to before the turn, to a time when Andre had been hurt in daycare and Mike had furiously defended his son against allegations that Andre had started the fight. She remembered the Saturdays they would spend in a park, lounging on a mat while Mike read to Andre. Michonne missed that Mike. She mourned that Mike. After the turn, he had changed… She had adapted, which eventually left her alone to take care of their infant son.

Michonne could not deny Rick that at least. Whatever method he had used, after the loss of his wife, Rick had kept his children alive, and regardless of her issue with his testiness towards her mothering of Carl, she respected that about him.

"Carl," she called, grabbing his attention and waving him over to her. When he arrived, she motioned behind her. "Let's check your shoulder."

Carl followed her to the nurses office and sat on the examination table while she collected some supplies. He watched her move meticulously around the room for a minute before he said aloud what he figured had happened earlier.

"You heard what my dad said."

Michonne glanced over at him and smiled. "I might have caught the backend," she admitted and he looked down at his hands.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"My dad-"

"Your dad's a piece of work," she interjected with a wink. "But he's happy to see you and I can't fault him for being a bit overprotective... considering."

"I don't want you two to not like each other."

Michonne snorted as she pulled off the gauze and examined his wound. "Carl, you should not be worried about that." When he said nothing, she looked over his face and tilted her head to the side. "It really did bother you, didn't it?"

Carl caught her gaze and countered her tone. "I saw the look you gave him. It bothered you too." Her eyes widened at being called on her admittedly bristled initial reaction to Rick's words but she said nothing to contradict his observation. Instead she proceeded to clean Carl's wound, her face growing stoic as her mind returned to her confrontation with Rick. Carl watched her for a few seconds before he spoke again. "Does Andre remember his dad?"

Michonne was taken back by the question however she refused to allow that prevent her from answering the question thoughtfully.

"Um… No." She gently wiped at his wound. "Thankfully…"

"Thankfully?"

Michonne caught his gaze, eyes hardened for a moment. "You stopped your mother from reanimating," she murmured. "Andre's father… The last memory he would have had was of his father trying to kill him…" Shifting, she leaned back a little. "Mike was a good man who couldn't handle this new world." She took a deep breath. "I don't fault him for that. A lot of people, a lot of good people… They weren't built for this and Mike… He never saw the purpose of trying to continue."

"And you?" Carl prodded gently, prompting her to smile.

"Andre and I wouldn't be alive if I didn't see some sort of point…" She motioned behind her. "Andre… He's one of those kids who has seen so much and he still… I mean, you've seen him… He just wants to play stupid games and make friends, and save piglets…"

Carl watched her for a moment before he took the plunge and decided to see how much she was willing to divulge. "What about Ellory?"

A silence fell over them for a moment as she returned to cleaning his wound. She focused determinedly, the wheels turning in her head as she thought through his question.

"Carl… Ellory was a…" She bit her lip and sighed. "He never understood… He and Andre were never close. He never tried and I never really encouraged it."

"Why?"

She pulled out another piece of gauze. "I guess deep down, I never really trusted him… I knew…" She choked and took a moment to collect herself. Carl reached out and took her hand, waiting patiently as she resumed redressing his wound. "I should have known," was all she could say.

"Then why do it? Why allow yourself to get so close to someone like that?"

This time Michonne was not quiet for long. "Have you or someone you know in the past five years ever go to a place you knew you shouldn't have? Did they ever seek comfort in someone they knew they shouldn't have?"

Carl's mind instantly went to Terminus and Jesse Anderson. Michonne could see he recognized her implications and she leaned back in her chair, swinging back and forth absentmindedly.

"You can't stay out there for too long," she muttered. "If you do, sometimes you lose focus, and I lost focus… It almost killed me and my son.

Carl frowned. "So what's changed?" When she tilted her head, he motioned around him at the school. "You've created a fortress where you and Andre could be protected."

"Because Andre needs more than just me… He needs a family, he needs friends… I can't give him that if we stay here." She took his face in her hands. "Carl, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but Andre was not one of them and neither are you and your family…" She smiled. "Sometimes you look at someone and you just know… Just like you, and just like your father."

There was a moment of reflection as Michonne finished up. As she cleaned up, he put his shirt back on and watched her once again move about the small room. He thought back to the look he had caught between her and his father. It seemed that every time they were together the very atmosphere in the room changed, but Carl was unable to pinpoint why. It had been a while since his mother had died, and even longer since he could recall his parents in the same space without the situation devolving into a fight. But even in the short time that they had interacted, he knew something was different. Perhaps it was just his father's conflict with his quick affection for Michonne. It was hard to say, but he knew he needed to keep an eye on it.

"Would you trust my dad with Andre?" He asked without thinking.

Without missing a beat, she looked him straight in the eyes. "Of course," she answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She had left her child with his friends already and despite her confrontation with Rick, there was no doubt in her mind that they would apply the same protectiveness they had over Carl to her small boy. "Would you trust me with Judith?"

Carl looked indignant. "Of course!"

Grinning, she poked him in the chest. "Okay then," she teased before motioning to his shoulder. "How does it feel?"

Just outside of the nurse's office, Rick released a breath he had been holding since he first stumbled upon their conversation.

"Good…"

"Can you move it?"

"Yeah, thanks mom," he heard his son reply quietly. Rick's heart clenched but he was no longer defensive. No longer angry. Having heard the conversation, it all made sense.

Everything made sense and without waiting for them to emerge, he quietly made his way back to the gym.

* * *

The rest of the evening passed by without much incident. Since their plans to loot the town had been dashed, Michonne laid out a new plan to utilize their new friends to help them the next day. The others went along since their only mode of transportation had been firebombed by a child in a poncho.

Michonne insisted, again, that Carl stay at the school and Rick agreed, adding that Enid stay back while the others went out with Michonne. The others agreed without much argument, aware of the tension that had sprung up between Rick and Carl.

"Do you guys need anything else?" Andre asked insistently from the door of the band room as the Alexandrians got settled. Michonne stood quietly behind him, amused by his antics.

"We're fine, thank you Andre," Rosita responded kindly. Their time with the child while in the gym had unequivocally convinced all of them that Andre, and by extension Michonne, was the wonderful, mischievous, intelligent, and somehow innocent child that would add to their community.

"Okay, 'cause you can't leave after we lockdown," he reminded them for the second time.

"Yes, we know. The walkers," Sasha interjected and Carl snorted.

"It's serious," he insisted.

Michonne grabbed Andre before he could wander back into the room. "You all have a wonderful night," she graced, glancing over at Carl. "We'll see you in the morning."

"Good night," Rick responded, catching her eyes.

A moment passed and Michonne disappeared with her son, closing the door behind her. As she and Andre made their way around the dark halls, a bright flashlight illuminating their way while they checked doors and traps, Michonne sensed her son's need to speak.

"What is it?" She asked as they hooked up one of the lines across the hall from a rigged classroom.

"I like them," he mumbled timidly.

She smiled at him. "I like them too."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You're not scared?"

"I'm always scared baby."

They moved on the another trap, checking the lines and ensuring that it was well applied.

"Enid's fun," Andre declared. "She and Jesus played basketball with me."

"Carl has good friends and family around him," she agreed and she noticed her son's face grow somber.

"Is he okay? With his dad?"

Michonne glanced up at him, her mind thinking back to her conversation with Carl. "He's fine," she whispered.

Andre stopped and stared at his mother. "Rick doesn't like you being close to Carl."

She was not surprised he had picked up on that. He had listened in just as she had. "It'll work out fine."

"I don't want him to not like us," Andre muttered worryingly and she stopped, looking down at him.

"Andre, you have nothing to be concerned about," she assured him. "We're going to Alexandria with Carl. We agreed to that and Rick's agreed to that."

Her son was quiet for a moment as they continued on to the next trap. For several months it had just been he and his mother. In that time, he became attuned to his mother's emotions in a way he had not realized until new people had been inserted into their lives once again. With Carl, he picked up on Michonne's quick motherly connection with the teen that Andre was used to. With the others, Andre noted a tense acquaintance forming, however with Carl's father, Andre noticed a shift in his mother. He had no context for this new shift since he could not remember his father and the only memories of his time in Fargo with Ellory that he kept with him were decidedly bad.

"Do you miss them?" He asked without thinking.

"Miss who?"

"Dad... and Ellory?"

Michonne looked into his somber eyes and even now, she still found herself amazed at the maturity in his tiny face. It was in times like this where she could see that he understood the enormity and violent awfulness of what they both had done to escape Fargo, to escape the camp where Mike had died. He could see the pain in his mother's eyes and reached out to take her hand.

"I miss your father, before the turn," she whispered softly. "I don't miss what he became... and I don't miss Ellory." Frowning, she tilted her head in worry. "Do you?"

Andre's face became distant and she often wondered how much he actually remembered from that horrible night. They had both done things that, as a mother, she would have never wished upon anyone. He had done things that she cried at night about. But as time went on, he had insisted he did not remember them when she attempted to discuss it. At times, she felt he was lying to protect her, but then he would smile and act like the eight year old she always wanted him to be, and she reasoned with herself that if he remembered what he had done, they had both somehow found a way to move passed it.

"No," he finally answered. "I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Family," he replied truthfully, his mind running back to when Rick and Carl had seen each other in town. His mother was his world to be sure, but he had never felt the fierce protection and love that he had witnessed between the Grimes from any man Andre had encountered in his life. The jealously that rose up in that moment was fleeting but powerful and even as they had moved on through the day, every time Andre saw Rick, he could not help but feel as if he were missing out on something that Carl had access to.

"Andre, look at me," Michonne requested quietly, taking his chin in her fingers and turning his head to face her. "I know this is a strange time for us and I know you're overwhelmed by all of these new people, but I need you to remain vigilant, okay?"

"I thought you said you trusted them."

"I do," she responded. "I think this is an important opportunity for us... and we're gonna take it."

"But?"

Michonne smiled at his instinctive understanding of her overall thought process. "But Ellory happened for a reason... he taught us that even amongst people you believe to be friends, and even among family, you should never, ever let your guard down."

"Because they'll eventually try to hurt you?"

She shook her head. "No, baby... the friends and family who love you... the one's who truly want what's best for you. They'll do everything in their power to protect you. We just need to make sure that those people don't blind us to the ones who do want to hurt us."

"Like Ellory."

"Yeah, like Ellory."

"Rick's not like Ellory," Andre declared and she smiled, nodding along with him.

"No, he most certainly isn't." He detected the relief in her voice but said nothing as she leaned in and planted a kiss on his forehead. "These are good people, Andre. And the more I get to know them the better I feel about Alexandria." She thought back to Carl's words on the staircase when they had agreed to go to Alexandria. "Carl was right. You need family to survive… Not just me."

Andre perked up. "Carl's family," he stated, looking to her for reassurance on how he was approaching these new relationships. Ever since he could remember, his mother had been the only constant in his life and the only relative he had known. Family was something be understood in theory, based on his mother's stories of her past before the turn and what he had read in children's books, but this would be his first real time experiencing it with her blessing. He wanted to make sure he was at least on the right track.

"Yeah, he is," she assured him and his face twisted slightly.

"Carl thinks of you as his mom… Does that mean Rick's my dad?"

Michonne froze for a moment. She had honestly not stopped to think about how Andre would make that type of connection. He and Rick had not really interacted much, leaving her with little to go on. It was not a topic she wished to discuss with Andre at the moment. Indeed, they had not yet arrived at Alexandria and already Rick Grimes was a bigger issue that she think even the leader himself intended to be.

Shaking her head, she sighed. "No," she clarified. "It doesn't… Let's just focus on getting to Alexandria for now. Everything else will play out naturally."

Andre watched her as she fixed up another trap, nodding slowly as he internalized her words. "Where do you think we'll stay?"

Michonne looked up from the line she was installing and frowned at her son. "What do you mean?" She inquired and he shrugged.

"You think they'll separate us?"

She instantly knew what he was referring to and trembled slightly at the memory. "They'd have to kill me." She returned to her task.

"Carl said everyone had their own place to live... you think we'll get a big house?" He asked eagerly and his mother snorted.

"Andre, we live in a school. Unless they've been hiding out in Buckingham Palace, I doubt it'll be as big as this," she pointed out.

"Buckingham Palace?"

Michonne stopped what she was doing. "You don't know Buckingham Palace?"

"I'm eight!"

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Three weeks ago, I told you to spend some time in the country section of that library and go through the African and European encyclopedias at least to start. Why do you not know about Buckingham Palace?"

Andre kicked the ground ruefully and shrugged. "I got bored when I got to Europe," he admitted and she struggled to hold back a laugh.

"Then what the hell were you doing in the library?"

"I found some magazines in one of the lockers."

"Magazines!"

"Yeah. There were a lot of pretty pictures. They talked about clothes a lot before the turn," he added and Michonne rolled her eyes, maneuvering her son up the stairs.

"So let me get this straight. You skipped learning about England to read five year old gossip about celebrities that are probably gnawing on some poor hairdresser or an inbred poodle?"

Andre giggled. "I only understood the poodle part," he told her and she laughed, tussling his hair.

"I told you not to read those things!"

They laughed as they made their way back to the principal's office, but in the back of her mind, there was a nagging feeling in regards to Rick Grimes. Even in his absence, she could not help but think about him. For now, she would not give her son the satisfaction of knowing such things. He was observant to be sure, but with the way things turned out with Ellory, Michonne was in no rush to present parallels to her son in the way she interacted with Rick.

"Let's go to bed," she said aloud, focusing her mind on the next day's tasks. She needed to get some rest and he did too.

* * *

Rick could not get any rest.

His mind was on overdrive. Just that morning he had been on the brink of thinking his son was dead. He had arrived in that town desperate to prove Rosita and Jesus otherwise, but now as he lay there in the uncomfortable gym mat, he was willing to admit that somewhere deep down, he was preparing to receive the worst news a parent could ever get.

Now, his thoughts were consumed with the image of the woman his son had called 'mom'.

So physically and emotionally different from Lori, Rick had never in a million years expected Carl to ever apply that word to another woman, let alone one he had never met before. It was jarring, yet after hearing them interact he could not help but admit that the immediate closeness made sense. They talked as he and Lori had talked when Rick came home late from work sometimes, cuddled in bed and discussing Carl's day in detail. It stunned Rick how easily they conversed and how bluntly Michonne responded to his questions.

Sighing, Rick got up and moved over to the door, glancing behind him to check on the others. After an exhausting drive and the excitement of the day, his friends and son lay sleeping. Carl and Enid, whom Rick had insisted lay between Sasha and Rosita, were somehow cuddling, sleeping peacefully in each other's arms on the far side of the room.

A slight jealousy rose up in Rick and before he even attempted to address it, he quickly slipped out of the room. He moved along the lockers, still amazed that such a place was not only standing but seemed to thrive.

He wondered what motivated her to leave the safety of this place. If his group had not found Alexandria and instead stumbled across this place, he would have insisted on staying here.

Five years into this new world, anyone who was still alive had a reason. Only extreme loss prompted someone to opt out, and in a world of constant loss, that was rare. Instead of bowing to this world, Michonne and Andre had built something extraordinary and he would not deny them that.

"You Grimes men seem to have trouble staying put."

Rick's hand was on his gun as he whirled around to see someone sitting on the steps in the dark. Michonne's still form was barely visible before she slowly stood up, illuminated by small shafts of moonlight that filtered through the windows.

"Keeping guard?" Rick replied and she motioned down the hall where he had been heading.

"Seven more feet that way and you would have been firing that gun at a few guards who don't talk back and it would have woken up Andre," she informed him as she approached. "I had a feeling someone was gonna step out after we told you not to."

"You were very vague about the dangers."

Michonne raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip. "I figured walker traps were pretty self-explanatory."

Rick stared at her quietly for a moment before he looked down at his boots, thinking back to their conversation in the kitchen. Or rather, her statement to him prior to her leaving the kitchen.

"I wanted to apologize," he murmured before he could stop himself.

She tilted her head to the side and frowned. "About what?"

"Earlier... with Carl..."

Michonne watched him briefly and then motioned for him to follow her. "Watch your step," she instructed over shoulder as she pulled out a flashlight. Turning it on, she illuminated their path, pointing out the thin cord along the ground that he very well would have tripped over even with a light source. Michonne silently led the way to the front of the school, with Rick trailing closely, giving into impulse and looking over her appreciatively.

Despite the tension between them, he could not help but admire Michonne as a gorgeous woman. In the dark halls, the singular light in her hand cast shadows around them and silhouetted her lithe body in an alluring way. However, he was shaken out of his revere as they stopped by the large, heavy double doors at the front of the school. She beckoned him over to her as she leaned against one of the doors, pressing her ear to the cool metal. Rick frowned, wondering why they had not been shown this part of the school during the tour.

"What do you hear?" She asked, her voice barely audible as he mimicked her stance, closing his eyes as he listened carefully.

For a moment there was just the sound of their breathing. He wondered whether he was meant to hear anything and was about to call her on it until the hum of low growls finally made its way through the doors. He looked up into her eyes and found that she was already staring at him with a strange look on her face. Caught in the act, she felt her cheeks flush slightly under his gaze, but she stood up straighter and pointed to the door behind him, leading to the front office. They went in and Rick was floored by what he saw.

Dozens of them.

Scores.

The undead swarmed the drive and lawn, lurching around, bumping into one another, gnashing and clawing and groaning. Little children with sunken, filmy eyes, flittered in and out of view, skin sloughing off as larger walkers staggered aimlessly passed the window.

"Jesus Christ," Rick uttered as he once again raised his hand to his gun.

"They can't see us," Michonne assured him, drawing his attention to see her sitting down in one of a couple of chairs that were already pulled up to the window. He moved over to her and sat down, looking back out the window in awe.

"This is incredible," he mumbled as he shifted in his seat, eliciting a crunchy noise beneath him. Candy wrappers and a couple of books were on the floor around them, causing him to raise an eyebrow questioningly.

Catching the look, she leaned back in her chair. "Andre comes in here sometimes when he's done with chores... I come here sometimes to think..."

"Why?" Rick asked softly, observing her face carefully as he waited for her to reply. There was something different about this interaction. Perhaps it was the intimacy of being closed off in an office surrounded by walkers. Perhaps it was his understanding of Carl's relationship with her.

"He doesn't remember the world before." Rick stared at her in surprise while she motioned to the small walkers. "This is all he knows..."

"And now you want to go to Alexandria?"

A ghost of a smile graced her full, beautiful lips. "Your son offered."

"And you accepted."

She turned straight at him, again with that same daring look in her eyes along with an impishness that aroused his curiosity. "Without your approval... again..."

The atmosphere in the dark room instantly shifted. The tension melted away, replaced by a uniquely humorous acknowledgement of each other. Rick cracked a smile at her words, unable to deny the affect she had on him at such close proximity. Instead of being threatened, as was his initial, and admittedly wrong reaction to Carl's words, he felt strangely at ease now, watching her tease him. For the first time in years, he was weirdly comfortable which was jarring and empowering.

"Normally we have a test," he admitted. "Carl told me he skipped all of that when he asked you to come with him back to Alexandria.

"A test?"

Rick nodded, breaking their gaze to look back out the window. "Our communities try to take in survivors when we can."

"All to make a safe place for your son and daughter."

"That's all I want."

"That's all I want too," she murmured, drawing his eyes back to her. Her heart skipped a beat but she buried any wandering thoughts as she took a deep breath. "I just want a safe place for my son..."

Rick raised an eyebrow. "Which one?"

A smirk cracked Michonne's face and she looked away, stifling a laugh that bubbled up in her throat. Rick's heart clenched at the affect he had on her and deep down he hoped he had the opportunity to have that impact on her in the future.

"Michonne," he started, grabbing her attention. "Thank you..."

"You don't have to keep thanking me for taking Carl in-"

Rick shook his head, cutting her off. "No, not that..." He rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah, for that, but..." He paused, looking for the right words to properly express himself. "For being there for him." She sat up straighter, taken aback by the seriousness and vulnerability in his voice. "I'd forgotten... it's been four years and I forgot."

Michonne instantly understood his meaning and without thinking she reached out to take his hand, surprising him and herself with the sudden act of intimacy. Their hearts pounded rapidly, pulse quickening, as they stared unblinkingly at each other, unsure of how to proceed.

"Yeah," she offered. "I forgot too..."

"Mom?"

Andre's voice pulled them out of their revere as the door to the office slowly opened, providing Michonne with enough time to pull away from Rick and stand up, the last moment shoved permanently to the back of her mind.

"Baby, are you okay?" She asked softly as the child appeared at the door, turning off his flashlight as he gazed sleepily inside.

"I woke up and you weren't there," he muttered accusingly while stepping in to see Rick. "What's going on?"

"We're just talking," Michonne replied, running a hand over his head tenderly.

"About what?"

"You," Rick teased and Andre pouted, going over to sit beside the man, swinging his legs around.

"Me?"

Michonne snorted. "Yeah, about your predilection for gossip magazines."

Rick smiled. "Gossip?"

"I like the photos!" Andre defended, but Michonne was already grinning.

"He refused to learn about Africa and Europe."

Andre's eyes widened and he stood up, moving his mother to sit down beside Rick while he stood in front of the window, undeterred by the walkers lingering around behind him.

"Ethiopia was the oldest independent African country," he began to recite in an attempt to prove them wrong. "Its capital was Addis Ababa and the official language was Amha... Am..."

"Amharic," Michonne assisted quietly, catching Rick's amused look. It was a bit too late to be having this conversation. "Andre, I know you know about those countries..."

"I just didn't wanna learn about England," Andre protested and Rick tilted his head.

"You don't know anything about England."

"I know some things," Andre shot back in childish annoyance, unaware of the giggles his mother was suppressing as the two continued with the absurd back and forth.

"Like what?" He inquired.

"They started the colonies here," Andre replied authoritatively, putting his hands on his hips as he settled into a teaching stance. "They had a monarchy and empire that was all over the world."

"Tell him about Buckingham Palace," Michonne piped in, covering her mouth to stop a laugh that threatened to erupt from her lips.

Andre nodded. "They had a palace!" He declared matter-of-factly.

Rick leaned forward in his chair, genuinely interested in learning more about Michonne's fascinating son. His heart went out to Andre as the child confidently proceeded with his lecture.

"Who lived in the palace?" Rick asked and Andre threw his hands up in the air in exasperation.

"I don't know. I didn't get that far," he admitted and Michonne broke out into peels of laughter, holding her sides while Andre glared at her. Rick hid a smile as he stood up to stand next to Andre.

"Don't worry, that was amazing how much you did remember."

"Thank you," Andre muttered, suddenly feeling self-conscious as his mother continued to giggle in her chair. " _Mom_ ," he added pointedly and she sobered up slightly, blushing under their gazes.

"Andre loves to read," she quipped, getting up from her chair and moving over to her son as well. "You did a great job, baby, but I think it's really time for bed. We have a long, early day tomorrow." She looked up at Rick. "You too."

He smiled and followed them out of the office, watching as Andre clung close to his mother while she turned on the flashlight and led the way back to the stairs.

"What is on the agenda tomorrow?" Rick asked curiously and she snorted.

"Well, since your group ruined a second attempt to raid that town, I'm gonna just bring you along and see what happens," she responded cheekily. "Third time's the charm."

"Am I going to have to stay behind with Carl?" Andre asked as they reached the landing and she nodded. Andre glanced over at Rick. "Can Rick stay with us?"

Rick saw the eagerness in Andre's eyes and was surprised by his own excitement at the prospect of getting to know the child his son had befriended better. Besides, he was well aware that his group could handle themselves, especially if they were being led by someone as capable as Michonne. "Sure, I'll stay behind and help out here." He glanced up at Michonne and caught the shock that flashed across her face at his words. It was a moment of truth of sorts for both of them and she seemed to realize that. "Unless you have a problem with that?"

It was fleeting, but he caught it. The slight twitch, a short gasp, and dilated pupils. She suppressed it swiftly, but he had seen it and as she blinked at him, he knew he would spend the rest of the night thinking about that look.

"No," was her breathy reply, the corner of her lip curving up into a smile at her words being thrown back at her. His body warmed at the gesture and she looked away. "Good night."

"Good night," Andre whispered, waving at Rick, who waved back with a smile.

"Good night, Andre," he responded, catching Michonne's eyes one last time. "See you in the morning."

They watched him walk off down the hall before they climbed the staircase, heading down the hall towards their office.

"I think he likes you," Andre mumbled with a yawn, startling her as she secured the line to the closet door.

"What the hell would make you say that?"

"He kept looking at you."

"What?"

Andre shrugged. "The article I read said that when someone stares at you a lot, they like you."

She tweaked his ear lightly and pointed into the office. "Andre, I swear to God if you read one more of those magazines, I'm gonna take away your paintbrushes."

"That's what the article said!"

"Seriously, stop reading them. In fact, tomorrow morning, first thing I'm gonna do is burn them."

"Mom! Book burning is bad!" Andre protested. "Don't be like Captain Beatty!"

Michonne furrowed her eyes in confusion. "Captain who..." Her eyes widened when she realized what he was talking about. "You had time to read that book but no time to even glance at England in the damned encyclopedia? Did you even understand it?"

Andre shrugged. "Some of it... Captain Beatty is the bad guy, right?" he asked to clarify.

Rolling her eyes, Michonne was too tired to address the strange and wonderful beauty that was her eight year old boy intellect. Instead she closed the door behind her and guided them back to their mats in the corner.

"Go to bed, we'll discuss this in the morning," she muttered.

"Are you gonna burn my magazines?" He demanded worriedly and she shook her head.

"No, Andre, I am not going to burn your magazines. I just want you to recognize that they are not factually accurate."

They settled down for bed and Michonne turned the flashlight off, plunging them into darkness. After a moment, she sighed as he shifted beside her, not completely done with their conversation.

"So Rick doesn't like you?"

"Andre, please go to bed."

The child waited another beat.

"Do you like him?"

"Andre!"

They fell into silence, leaving Michonne with nothing else to think about except Rick Grimes.

 **A/N: Thank you all again for your support! I appreciate the reviews and enthusiasm for the story!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you all so much for your patience. I know I say this every update, but it's been a while so I thank you! I appreciate the reviews, I read them all and love the support you all have provided me. Ok, so I'll let you get to it.**

* * *

"Why don't we just leave today?" Sasha suggested during breakfast the next morning, drawing Michonne's attention away from her quiet conversation with Andre.

"Today?"

Rosita exchanged glances with Jesus before she leaned forward. "We all sort of just rushed back out without much warning," she explained, catching Rick's eyes. She had discussed it with him earlier that morning about the need to return back to Alexandria as soon as possible. "Our people are going to wonder what happened to us if we don't return soon."

He nodded. "They're gonna send someone to look," he added. There were plenty times in the past where that had happened, with bad results, that he was determined to avoid having more people leave Alexandria.

Michonne did not need further explanation. It was enough of a surprise to find Carl's father and friends in the town only a couple days after he had gone missing. She should not be shocked to hear that others would come if they all did not return in a reasonable timeframe.

"Mom, can we leave today?" Andre asked eagerly.

"We still have packing to do," she countered. "And the animals."

Enid motioned to her and Carl. "We'll work on that while you guys are gone."

Carl nodded. "Yeah, we'll get it done."

Michonne's eyes fell on her son's anxious face. She knew he was excited by the prospect of seeing Alexandria and understood the others' desire to return, especially for Rick, who's other child was still there. She was holding out.

"If we get back in time," she relented quietly, before she stood up and pulled her katana on. "Sasha, Rosita, we're gonna take the truck out to town. If you two don't mind driving it in." The two women nodded and Michonne turned to Jesus. "You and I will take the horses."

They all moved to get up and Michonne shook her head, holding up her hands. "Finish your food," she insisted. "It's gonna be a long day… Andre, with me."

They watched the boy shove the remainder of his food in his mouth, jump out of his seat and hurry after his mother, leaving the others in the cafeteria as they made their way upstairs.

"You want to stay another day?" Andre asked, his voice tinged with impatience.

"If we don't get back by midday."

Andre muttered something under his breath and she tweaked his ear. "Ow! What?"

"Watch your mouth," she scolded as they stopped in front of the art studio. "I just want to make sure we're not risking safety for speed."

Her son did not respond, instead peering into the studio forlornly. She watched him for a moment, reaching out to run her hand over his hair.

"Andre, I don't think you can take them with you," she whispered and he looked up at her.

"You said you wouldn't burn my paintbrushes!"

She shook her head. "I'm not talking about the brushes. I'm talking about the canvases… the paintings. I don't think you can take them with you."

"Why not?"

"Because there's probably no room at Alexandria for them. I'm guessing most people arrive with nothing… We can't bring all of this with us. We shouldn't."

Andre seemed to accept her reasoning, sighing loudly as he returned to looking into the studio. Michonne ran her hand through his locs, constantly impressed by him. There had been many moments since the turn where she believed that her actions, intentional or not, had impacted him in such a traumatic way that he would not be able to function in this new world. At times, especially after violent interactions, she had the worst imaginings that her son could become the worst parts of the most awful people they had encountered. When she trained him, she saw flickers of it, but as she attempted to provide him with positive outlets, makeshift therapy, and as much love as she could, she was thankful that those impulses faded.

The familiar clicking of boots alerted Michonne and Andre to Rick's approach and they both turned to see him walking up.

"Hey," he greeted and she smiled.

"Hey."

Andre waved. "Hi Rick. Ready to help?"

Grinning, Rick nodded. "Yeah. I just came to find you. Rosita, Jesus, and Sasha are ready to go to town with you," he motioned to Michonne.

"Good," she responded, patting her son on the head. "Let's go."

Rick observed Andre glance furtively into the studio before trailing his mother towards the stairs. Rick fell in step with Michonne.

"Andre will show you the rooms that still need to be packed," she told Rick as they headed downstairs.

"I think we'll be able to get it done."

"Yes, well…" She reached out and pulled Andre to her. "We'll see…"

Andre watched his mother for a moment before he leaned forward and grabbed Rick's attention. "Is it true you have tests for new recruits?"

"Yes."

"We were never tested."

"I know. You don't need to be, though," Rick pointed out confidently.

"What's the test?" Andre asked.

"Just three questions."

"What are the questions."

Rick stopped, slightly concerned now. As often as he had asked them, he had actually never done it in front of a child and he had never been interested in that child's response. The type of question never seemed appropriate for a child.

"It's really not important."

Michonne raised an eyebrow. She had not pursued it last night, but now her curiosity was piqued, mainly by his hesitancy to discuss it. She knew why and decided to address it.

"Andre, why don't you go tell the others I'm on my way."

"But mom-"

"Now," she snapped. Andre reluctantly complied and continued on towards the gym. Michonne waited until he was gone before she turned to Rick, hands on hips. "What are the questions?"

Rick had no interest in arguing with her. "How many walkers have you killed?" She snorted and he shrugged, thinking of Alexandria when he had first arrived there. "You'd be surprised."

She stared at him for a moment and the ceded. "Too many to count at this point."

"How many people have you killed?"

Michonne's face darkened and her mind flashed briefly to the burning compound of Fargo.

"Twenty-five… maybe thirty…"

Rick saw the look on her face and found no reason to continue. Instead, he nodded and slowly turned to leave. They were behind schedule as it was.

"What about the third question?"

"I've seen Andre," he replied over his shoulder. "I don't need to know why."

* * *

"Be good while I'm gone," Michonne instructed as she got on her horse. "Andre, you're in charge."

Jesus snorted back a laugh at the look on Rick's face, prompting Andre to put his hands on his hips in annoyance.

"Why is that funny?"

Jesus shook his head, smiling at Andre. "Nothing. I just don't think I ever thought I'd see the day where Rick was usurped by a child."

"I'm eight!"

"Which is the perfect age." Jesus motioned to Rick, who was hiding a smile. "Old man needs a break."

Michonne laughed and shifted atop the horse. "We gonna have a problem?" She was looking directly at Rick.

He shook his head. "No. Andre's in charge."

"Carl. Enid."

They grinned. "Andre's in charge."

Satisfied with the response, she waved goodbye. "See you in a couple of hours."

"Bye Mom," Andre and Carl called simultaneously. Rick's face indicated he was still getting used to hearing that as he followed Michonne and Jesus to the gate where Sasha and Rosita waited in the car.

"We'll be fine," Rick assured her. "We'll try to have everything ready when you get back."

"Oh I know," she replied, though her tone betrayed some level of uncertainty. They were nearing the point of departure from the school it was clear she was not ready. Realizing she was being watched, Michonne sighed and turned her horse motioning to the gate. "See you soon."

Rick shared a glance with Jesus before he helped open the gate and watched them leave. He knew his people could handle themselves and he trusted that Michonne would do what she could to bring them all back.

Looking up the hill, he saw Carl, Andre, and Enid finally heading back to the gym. His mind went to Judith and he yearned to see her soon. He wanted to hold his little girl again and ready or not, he was heading back to Alexandria today. He just hoped Michonne would be ready when she returned.

* * *

The ride into town had been quiet, as Jesus allowed Michonne time to just think. He had noticed her growing discomfort with the upcoming departure and recognized the apprehension. It was familiar to what Rick and his group had shown when Jesus first arrived at Alexandria.

"What were you? Before the turn?" he asked quietly as they cleared the trees and rode the horses onto the main street.

Michonne caught his eyes and smiled. "A lawyer."

"Really? Did you have training?" She frowned and he motioned to the sword on her back. "You and Andre. You're both really great with that. I was wondering how you learned."

She shrugged. "Sort of just taught myself… then taught Andre."

"He's a great kid… he's gonna be fine in Alexandria…"

They fell silent for a little while as they maneuvered the horses behind one of the buildings. Michonne found a few wandering walkers and drew them to the back where they were able to remove their arms and mouths, chaining them up around the horses to mask them.

"You are a wealth of great ideas," Jesus complimented.

Michonne laughed and pointed down the alley. "Down here," she led the way to the one store she had been working on since they had arrived. Realizing where they were, Jesus turned to her.

"This is where I stole your car," he stated apologetically.

"Yeah, it is." She motioned to the third floor of the store. "It was being used by the military before the town was overrun. They locked some stuff up there and I can't get to it."

"Why not?"

She snorted. "Only way to get through the locks is a saw, but it's taking longer than I expected." She caught the look he gave her and she rolled her eyes. "I wasn't a handyman before this thing started and that is a military grade locker. The noises draw too much attention."

He followed her in, surprised by the amount of dead walkers lining the floor as they made their way up the stairs. The hardware store was looted already while the second and third level each had grated, iron doors with broken padlocks and old school key pads. Jesus was impressed. She had clearly spent a lot of time working on getting into this place and it made more sense now why it was taking a while to get what she wanted. The place had been locked down like a fortress. When they reached the third floor, he could see a large electric saw in the corner near a massive, thick steel cabinet up against the far wall. A few tables lined the other walls with huge communications equipment, scattered stacks of paper, and satellite maps. Certain items were definitely missing.

"You've been busy."

Michonne smiled and removed her pack, pulling out a couple of large rechargeable batteries. She handed them to Jesus and pointed to the saw. "If you don't mind."

"Seriously?"

Michonne pointed outside. "I'm gonna meet up with Sasha and Rosita, make sure they know where to go. Can you handle that by yourself?"

Jesus smirked and nodded. "Yeah, I can handle it."

She headed back downstairs in time to see the truck turn the corner onto the other street. She ran to catch up and waved them down.

"We were wondering where you two had gone," Sasha stated as she got out of the truck.

"Where is Jesus?" Rosita asked and Michonne motioned behind her.

"Hardware store." As if on cue, they could hear the starting buzz of the saw and then the cringe worthy meeting of metal. "He's working on something."

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "And what are we working on?"

"The one thing in this town Andre and I weren't able to get," Michonne answered, leading them down the street. As they walked, Sasha and Rosita took the time to gather more information about their companion.

"Was the town deserted by the time you got here?" Rosita asked.

"Pretty much. A couple people were holed up in one of the corner buildings, but we dealt with it." She looked around. "Town was overrun for a couple of weeks after that."

Sasha observed her for a moment. "Are you ready to leave this place?" The question caught Michonne off guard and she shrugged. "I just mean… nowadays, most people stay in one spot unless that place is destroyed or something awful enough makes them leave. Most people don't just pack up their homes and travel miles to a new home with people they've never met before."

Michonne paused for a moment, thinking about the question. She recalled her conversations with Carl and decided to be just as forthcoming with them. "My son needs friends… he needs a family, not just me," she admitted, continuing to lead the way down the street.

"And you?" Rosita questioned softly.

A ghost of a smile graced Michonne's lips. "My son says I need friends," she quipped, breaking whatever tension was left between them and causing them all to laugh a little as they finally reached a fenced off area behind what looked to be a gun store.

"What the hell?"

In the enclosure, seven small walkers standing around a few wooden crates in the back. It was fairly innocuous.

Rosita and Sasha exchanged confused glances. They had seen how effective Michonne and Andre were at dispatching walkers.

"What's in the boxes?"

"Water filtration systems," Michonne answered, shocking them both.

"Seriously?"

Michonne nodded, pulling out a folded up piece of paper from her back pocket. She unfolded it and offered it to Rosita, who looked over what was an inventory. A military grade inventory.

"They left a lot of stuff behind," Rosita observed, looking the list before handing it to Sasha. "So what's going on with that?"

Michonne had seen the look Rosita and Sasha shared and pointed to a spot in the corner just out of view of where they stood. "There are about fifty walkers hiding back there. I tried once to get to those crates and they swarm before I can get past the fence."

"Why not just open the fence and let them out?" Sasha asked. "Wait till they leave."

Outlining the fence but being careful not to touch it, Michonne walked along the sidewalk, pointing out hundreds of tiny bells attached to the fence.

"They don't respond to any other noise but the bells," she informed them. "We've tried banging pots and such to lure them out, but it's just the bells for some reason… You touch this fence and they're out before you know it. There's too many for Andre and I to fight off alone and I wouldn't be able to cut through fast enough. It's a deathtrap in there."

Sasha smiled. "So what's your plan?"

She motioned to the roof of the gun store. "There's a way to get in without being heard, but my son's not strong enough to lower me down in there so we could never try it."

Rosita looked around. "So we go to the roof, lower you down into an enclosed space with walkers triggered by unusual noises, you hand us the filtration systems and then we pull you out before you get eaten by said walkers."

"Pretty much."

"That's incredibly dangerous."

Michonne snorted. "Suicidal, probably."

Sasha shouldered her rifle and grinned. She had the best feeling that they would definitely get along well with Michonne. "Let's do this."

* * *

Most of the morning was spent hurriedly moving things out of the building and finding places in the horse trailer to put them while still maintaining room for the animals once they were loaded. It did not take long for them to scatter in an effort to divide and conquer. Rick found himself in the art studio, staring at a small oil painting of what seemed to be a bleeding animal.

It was strange.

Reds, blues, blacks, greens, and oranges all clashed to form this cruel, brilliant form, prostrate on the ground. A huge red splash right across the middle.

It was beautiful and sad.

"Are you lost?"

"Shit!" Rick swore when he knocked over an empty easel as he whirled around to see Andre standing in the corner, watching him with the same intensity as any police officer Rick remembered from before the turn.

"Sorry," Rick apologized as the child approached before he frowned. "How..." he motioned to the door, knowing he had not heard it open. "How did you get in?"

Andre motioned to the closet. "There's a hole into the next room," he explained.

"Did your mom just teach you to sneak around everywhere?"

Andre shrugged as he came to stand next to Rick, his footsteps deliberate and barely audible on the concrete. "Mom says one of the best ways to die in this world is to be heard."

Rick was simultaneously impressed and depressed by the knowledge this boy before him had to learn at such a young age. As small and well trained as he was, there was no doubt in Rick's mind that Andre had had an incredibly difficult life since the turn.

"Good words to live by," he whispered.

Andre motioned to the easel Rick had bumped into. "Did I scare you?"

Rick snorted. "No... you just have a knack for appearing out of nowhere that I've never seen before."

"Thank you," Andre replied, his chest swelling with pride. "Why are you in here?"

"I was looking for Carl and Enid."

"They're finishing loading supplies in the plow. And kissing," he added with a grimace.

Rick snorted at Andre's honesty. "Oh they are?"

"They really like each other."

"Yeah... they do."

Rick admittedly did not spend too much time thinking about Carl's relationship with Enid, but he knew Andre was correct in his analysis. He knew it had been a while since the two had been together so he was not so uptight about it to interrupt what little alone time they had together. He just hoped they would not take things too far.

"Do you like anyone?"

After last night's revelation about the gossip magazines, Rick should not have been surprised by the boy's probing questions. Clearly deprived of conversation with others, Andre seemed to be making up for lost time by gathering as much information about the people around him as possible and sharing it with others in order to develop a relationship.

What did catch him off guard was the unusual smirk on Andre's face. Like he knew something that Rick did not and was extremely happy about it.

Choosing not to answer the question, Rick smiled and motioned to the painting he had been looking at before Andre had arrived. "You did this?"

Andre nodded. "Mom doesn't paint."

"What is it?"

Andre was quiet for a moment, his face becoming stoic. It was a disarming look on a eight year old and Rick once again felt his heat constrict at the thought of the boy in pain.

"You don't have to tell-"

"It's Ellory."

Rick frowned. "Ellory?"

Andre pointed to the black and blue bleeding form on the canvas. "Ellory." He pointed to the face, a white and black mass with menacing eyes. "That's Ellory."

"What's Ellory?"

"Ellory was a bad man. That's him."

Rick stared at the painting for a couple of seconds before he realized that what he was staring at was a man, not an animal. The fingers were barely formed, but as Andre motioned around, Rick started to get a better idea of what was being conveyed. The red gash was right across the man's chest.

Rick glanced back at Andre, who seemed unaffected by what he was looking at, but Rick sensed a need to discuss it more.

"What happened to Ellory?"

"He died."

"How?"

"I killed him."

A strangely peaceful silence fell over the studio as Andre sat down on the cold floor and just stared at the painting. Rick lowered himself down beside him and waited. He had learned early with Carl that pushing these conversations would end badly, but he also knew that this child desperately wanted to talk about it. It was written all over his tired, young face.

This had been the first painting that Andre had ever done and his mother often asked why he continued to work on it.

She hated it, but never asked him to destroy it. He had refused to discuss the actual moment, often feigning ignorance in order to placate his mother's worry, and so she allowed him this outlet. But he knew she loathed it.

Andre's memory of the moment faded in and out of clarity.

Ellory had found them after they circled back to burn the compound. Andre could not for the life of him remember the events leading up to him falling out of the tree on top of the man. Just the blood and the screams and the sound of tearing flesh.

Andre kept the painting to remind him of bad men, but as he sat next to Rick, he had a feeling he needed to let it go.

"Mom read books about child therapy... she thinks this helps."

"Does it?" Andre nodded but said nothing. Rick took a deep breath. "Andre..."

"Yes."

"How many people have you killed?"

Andre's eyes widened in realization and he turned to Rick, eager to provide the most accurate information.

"Five," he answered quickly, saddening Rick immensely. The man knew how it had been with Carl after his first kill. But he had many people around him to help Carl through it. He could only imagine how it was for Michonne alone.

Rick looked around and only saw images of trees and pigs in the other drawings and paintings.

"Was Ellory the first?" He asked quietly. Rick wondered how Michonne would react to him having this conversation with her son, but he felt compelled to continue as long as Andre was willing.

"Yes." Rick was quiet for too long. "Aren't you supposed to ask why?" Andre inquired, almost annoyed that he was not getting the same treatment as his mother. She had told him about her talk with Rick before she had departed with the others.

Realizing that Andre wanted the full questioning, he acquiesced. "Okay, why?"

It seemed as if Andre was less prepared to actually answer the question as he was to just hear it. He fell silent and Rick patiently waited for him to gather his thoughts. Andre carefully removed his katana from his back and rested it in his lap, gripping the katana tightly as he stared at the painting.

"He hurt my mom."

There was a warning in there, He could hear it distinctly in the child's voice. He was absolutely positive he had just been threatened with death from a pint-sized eight year old boy with a sword and in that moment Rick knew he would do everything in his power to protect Andre just as fiercely as he did Judith and Carl. He would make sure whatever awful experience that had led him and Michonne to this place would never happen again.

Taking another deep breath, Rick looked around the studio. "Are you gonna bring this with you?"

Andre's face contorted. "Mom says there's probably not gonna be room."

Rick frowned. "There's room in the trailer for it."

"No... at Alexandria."

"Oh..." Rick instantly thought of Jesse's abandoned garage and those awful owls she had left behind. "Actually... there is."

Andre's eyes brightened hopefully. "Really?"

Rick nodded, offering the child a reassuring smile. "Yeah. We can set you up there."

In a moment of joy, Andre hopped up and instantly began collecting his brushes and turpentine. Rick got up, grinning at the happiness he witnessed before he moved to help. He reached out to take the Ellory painting when Andre yelled at him.

"Not that one!"

Rick paused and watched Andre walk back over, his eyes filling with tears as he quietly contemplated his art.

To Rick's surprise, Andre reached out and tugged gently on his arm.

"Rick," he whispered so softly that Rick had to crouch down to hear him.

"Yeah?"

Andre sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Can you help me burn it, please?"

Rick's heart clenched painfully and he nodded without hesitation.

"Yeah... I'll help."

* * *

"How's the arm?"

Jesus snorted. "I'm fine, Michonne," he assured them as they rode the horses through the trees, nearing the school. "It wasn't that bad."

She smiled and sighed. "Good… that saw's a beast."

He laughed. "Yeah, well, I'm glad I was able to get in before all those walkers swarmed up the stairs."

"That's what the bazooka's for."

"Can you believe they left that behind?"

"People do stupid shit when they're scared, even soldiers."

Jesus nodded, watching her in admiration. "Yeah… not a lot of soldiers would have done what you did at that gun store."

She shrugged. "Water filtration is important."

"Most people wouldn't risk getting bitten for a piece of bread these days."

She was about to ask him another question when she finally noticed the smoke rising up from the school. Without a word to her companion, she spurred the horse and took off at full speed. She raced towards the back gate, gearing up to clear the gate as she whistled loudly. The horse leapt, striking a tied walker in the head as it stuck the landing and she galloped up the hill to where the bonfire was. She slowed the horse as she saw Rick and Andre sitting on the ground near the fire, with Carl and Enid standing close by.

The teens approached Michonne as she finally stopped the horse and dismounted.

"What the hell is going on?" She demanded and Enid pointed to her son.

"Andre wanted to burn something," she explained.

Michonne frowned. "What?"

Carl shrugged. "Wouldn't tell us what. Just asked us to build a fire."

Taking a deep breath, Michonne nodded and motioned behind her. "Okay... um... Jesus was right on my heels with the others. Why don't you two go open the gate."

The teens smiled and left to greet the others while Michonne carefully approached Rick and Andre, who seemed unaware of her arrival. They seemed to be looking over a map of some kind.

"But why doesn't it eat anyone?" Andre demanded and she heard Rick chuckle.

"I honestly don't know... I stopped asking years ago."

"Andre," Michonne called, drawing their attention. When they turned, she instantly zeroed in on the tear stains on Andre's cheeks and his puffy eyes. Any good benefit of the doubt left her as she knelt down and grabbed her son's face. "What happened? Why are you crying?"

Rick motioned to the fire. "Michonne-"

He was silenced by the look in her eyes before she returned to Andre. "Andre-"

"Rick helped me burn the painting of Ellory," the child explained quickly, detecting his mother's deadly protectiveness overtaking her. He smiled. "It's gone, Mom."

It took a moment for her to realize he was talking about and then she looked up at Rick, who was watching Andre with a mixture of pride and tenderness.

"He did," she gasped, catching Rick's gaze.

He shook his head in an attempt to downplay his role. "Andre just asked me to build a fire."

Michonne's mind was racing and it took her a moment to respond. "Um..." she took a quick breath. "Um, Andre... are you okay?"

He nodded, giving his mother a kiss before looking around. "Where are Carl and Enid?"

"They went down to the gate. Why don't you go and help them, baby," she suggested quietly. "Rick and I will be down in a minute."

Andre looked between the two and poured. "Are you going to talk about me?"

Rolling her eyes, Michonne pinched Andre's thigh, prompting him to stand up quickly. "Boy, go to the gate," she chided.

They watched as he grumbled away before Michonne turned back to Rick, unsure of how to address him.

"Andre told you about the painting."

"Yeah."

"He told you about Ellory."

Rick tilted his head to the side. "He told me what he thought I needed to know."

Michonne matched his stance, pulled in by his beautiful blue eyes. "Which is?"

He had a feeling she was not actually interested in what Andre had told him about the mysterious dead Ellory.

Standing up, Rick motioned to Andre's retreating form. "There's a psychiatrist at Alexandria," he told her quietly. "I told him if he talked with her he could see the tiger at the Kingdom."

Michonne's eyes widened. "You suggested that my son see a psychiatrist?"

Rick snorted. "No, actually he asked me about the doctors." He ran his fingers through his hair and looked down at his boots. "Look Michonne, I'm sorry... if I overstepped my bounds... he just seemed like he needed someone to talk to."

She was quiet for such a long time that he looked up to see a strange look on her face. "He does..."

For a moment they were drawn to each other, stepping into an orbit outside of the world around them. Michonne felt her body grow hot under his gaze and knew she affected him similarly when she saw his pupils dilate. She wondered briefly why she was so drawn to this man that she barely knew.

"Thank you," she breathed, taking a step away. She could have sworn she saw disappointment in his eyes, but she pushed it out of her mind. "Um... it would be good for him to talk to that psychiatrist, when we get there."

Rick nodded. "Okay. When we get there," he agreed, watching her carefully.

Michonne took a shaky breath, glancing over at the bonfire before her eyes rested on the incoming party of cars and horses. Andre was laughing with Carl as they led the way up the hill. Enid and Jesus were helping Rosita and Sasha sort through their findings. Andre looked happy with Carl. With his brother...

"Rick..."

"Yeah."

"Rosita said that we had the option to go to Hilltop or the Kingdom, if we wanted."

"Of course. We wouldn't keep you at Alexandria. You should see the other communities."

His tone suggested that this was not what he preferred. Watching Andre, it was not what she preferred either.

"I'd like us to stay at Alexandria. At least initially."

Rick moved to stand next to her. "There aren't any homes available right now for you to move into..." She looked up at him and looked over his face. He refused to look at her.

"Mom!" Andre yelled. "Mom come here!"

She waved but did not move from her spot immediately, prompting Carl to join in.

"Mom! Mom!" They both called, grinning at the annoyed look on her face and the amused look on Rick's.

"Okay! I'm coming!" She snapped, causing Rick to chuckle. She caught the amusement in his eyes and it seemed as if they came to the same conclusion at the same time.

"Michonne... you and Andre could stay with us until something opens up... if you want."

For some reason, Michonne found herself smiling.

"I'd have to ask Andre first."

Rick could not help but snort. "He's all for it."

Again, her eyes widened. "You asked my son?"

He shook his head. "He asked me... right after we burned the painting." It was impossible to hide the amusement on his face. "Andre doesn't have much of a filter."

Michonne smiled, taking Rick's breath away and causing his heart to race. "No he doesn't..." Her smile faded as she watched the others move to the gym and open the doors. She realized then that they were actually about to leave. They were about to pack up everything and move to an unknown place. She was about to risk the safety of her and her son for an unknown...

She gasped when she felt Rick's hand rest on her arm. Their eyes met and he offered her a smile.

"Are you ready?"

Michonne's chest constricted and she reached up to take his hand, swallowing hard when he squeezed gently. Looking into his eyes though, she was not scared.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm ready..."

* * *

It was unclear how Andre, Enid, and Carl managed to get all of the animals into the trailer, but by the time the piglets were all rounded up and placed in their own stall, it was clear the younger people were eager to depart.

Michonne insisted on being at the head of the caravan in the truck pulling the horse trailer with Andre. Sasha and Rosita agreed to trail in the snow plow carrying most of the guns, food, and other supplies. Jesus would take up the rear in a car while Carl was intent on taking the other car with Enid, much to Andre's chagrin.

He settled when Rick suggested accompanying him and Michonne in the truck.

With everything packed and ready to depart, they all waited on the soccer field while Andre and Michonne did one final walk through of the school.

"We'll keep everything locked down and the traps set just in case," she whispered to her son as she rigged up the final wire.

"Just in case what?"

"We need to come back."

Andre looked worried. "You think we'll need to come back?"

She shook her head. "Andre, you never know what we'll need. This place may be useful to the Alexandrians."

"Aren't we Alexandrians?"

She caught his eyes and smiled. "Yeah, I suppose we are." She reached out and pulled him into a quick hug. "I love you, Andre."

"I love you too Mom."

* * *

"Abraham! Come down and let me relieve you," Tara called. "You can't stay up there another day."

"I'm staying up until she gets back," Abraham responded gruffly.

Tara sighed and climbed the ladder. "Stubborn son of a bitch," she grumbled as she came to stand next to him. "You need to get some rest."

Abraham snorted as he puffed on his cigar. "I'm staying up here, Tara."

"Sasha will be back soon."

The man stilled for a second, removing the cigar from his lips and staring at the rising smoke. "I just need to know she's okay."

Tara smiled and rested a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be fine. Rosita and Rick are with her."

Abraham remained quiet, returning the cigar to his mouth.

"Tara! Abraham, you two okay?"

They glanced behind them to see Aaron and Eric approaching the gate. Tara waved.

"We're good. Where are you two headed?"

Aaron motioned to Eric. "To check on Eric's new arrival, Thomas. We're gonna have spaghetti later, you're welcome to come over," he called.

"Abraham's stuck up here til Sasha gets back," Tara responded, prompting the couple to smile.

"She'll be back soon, Abe," Eric assured the man. "The place wasn't too far."

Aaron nodded. "Yeah, and Eric and I were talking about heading out tomorrow if they didn't get back by then."

"Thank you," Abraham answered while Tara glanced back out to the other side of the wall.

"Um, Abraham..."

He turned to see a large truck turning the corner onto the road leading up to Alexandria, pulling a massive horse trailer behind.

"What the hell?"

Tara pulled out her gun. "Aaron get some back up. We've got a big unknown coming!"

Abraham lifted up his weapon and looked through the scope, watching as a giant plow and a couple of other cars turned onto the road after the truck.

"We got a few bogies coming up," he announced before he focused on the driver of the front truck. A gorgeous black woman. A small dreadlocked child. "Rick Grimes."

Tara's eyes widened. "Rick?!"

Abraham examined the other cars and breathed a sigh of relief when he caught sight of Sasha sitting in the passenger seat of the plow next to Rosita. "Open the gate!"

They all hurried to get the gate unlocked as the caravan neared.

"Denise!" Tara yelled, hoping her girlfriend would hear. "Denise!" Eric shot her a puzzled look and she motioned to the speed at which the cars were arriving. "Just in case."

"Wow!" Aaron exclaimed as the caravan passed the gates and slowed to a stop.

"Hey Rick! What is all of this?" Eric asked as the leader got out of the truck.

The man pointed to the car nearest them. "We found Carl," he announced triumphantly just when the teen jumped out, smiling meekly at the shock on Eric's face.

"Carl!" Tara greeted, pulling him into a quick hug. "Oh thank God!"

"Hey Abraham," Sasha greeted warmly as she hopped down from the plow. They grinned at each other and shared a loving kiss as she stole the cigar from him. "Good to see you."

He ran a hand down her back, resting on her rear as he planted another kiss on her temple, sending up a silent thank you. "You found Carl," he noted and she nodded, motioning to the caravan.

"And a couple more new members," she added.

Rosita came around the other side and clapped Abraham on the back. "Hey Abe." They all gathered around Rick and Carl while Michonne and Andre slipped out of the truck, eyes wide.

"Mom," Andre gasped, tugging on her sleeve. "Mom, look at the houses..."

"I see... oh Andre..." She pulled the child to her, giving him a hug from behind as she looked around the bright community. There were people coming out of their homes, aroused by the excitement at the gate. All eyes were on her and her son and for a moment she felt overwhelmed. She could sense Andre wriggling in her grasp, hopping up and down eagerly awaiting an opportunity to see the rest. Michonne's heart raced before her eyes landed on Rick, who was watching her as well. He offered her a smile and she tried to smile back.

"Carl!"

Elena ran up to the teen and pulled him into a bruising hug. "You're alive!"

Rick hurried over and gently pulled the young lady away from his son, motioning to his shoulder. "Carl was shot... Denise!"

Tara turned to see the doctor hurrying over with a baby on her hip. They shared a quick kiss before Tara took their daughter and pointed to Carl.

"Babe, he needs your help."

"Denise, Michonne patched him up really well, but if you could just check him out," Rick insisted, grabbing Michonne's attention.

"You're the doctor?" She questioned, pulling Andre along with her.

Denise smiled and held out her hand. "Yeah, hi. You are new," she acknowledged. "Are you from the Kingdom or Hilltop?"

Michonne shook the woman's hand. "Michonne. We're from..."

Rick smiled. "They're from here, Denise. Do you mind checking on Andre? They've been out in the elements for a while." He exchanged glances with Michonne. "We want to make sure he's healthy."

Denise saw the anxiety on Michonne's face and the nervousness at the crowd that was growing. Nodding, she motioned towards her infirmary. "Sounds good, Carl you too." She gave Tara's hand a quick squeeze. "Welcome to Alexandria."

Rick hesitated to follow them as he saw the crowds gathering. He knew he needed to address them, but he also did not want to leave Michonne and Andre alone when they had just arrived. He also wanted to ensure that nothing that belonged specifically to the two was carried off for community use.

Rosita nudged him. "Take care of this, Rick," she whispered, pointing to Jesus and Sasha, who were already corralling people away from the trailer and plow. "I'll keep an eye on Michonne and Andre. Once Denise checks them out, I'll bring them to your place."

Rick rested a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you," he muttered.

She snorted, turning to catch up with Denise's group. "Thank me later. Things are about to get interesting here, Rick!"

* * *

Michonne could barely wrap her mind around Alexandria. After being released from Denise's care with a clean bill of health, Andre took off before Rosita could insist they return to the Grimes home. They ran into the little team transferring the food and guns they had brought to the armory and pantry. Olivia welcomed them excitedly, overcome with the prospect of members who knew how to cure meats and make cheese. Michonne did not register much as she saw her guns inventoried.

"You'll have access to them when you want," Rosita assured her quietly. "Olivia's meticulous about keeping track of everything, so you'll know who has something you want if it's not here." She smiled. "Plus, Eugene can make more bullets for anything that's running low."

"You have someone who makes bullets?" Michonne's tone dripped with incredulity as they moved along, trailing after Andre.

They followed after him as he ran down the street, looking around rapidly and pointing out every little thing to his mother.

"The houses are big, Mom!"

Michonne grinned. "I see that. Really cool, huh?"

Andre nodded, taking his mother's hand as he led the way to the chapel. "Mom, look!"

A slender, black man appeared from the front in a priest's outfit, which took Michonne by surprise while Andre seemed to enjoy the sight.

"Hello!" Andre greeted and the man smiled.

"Hi, new arrivals!" He replied happily. "Welcome! I'm Father Gabriel!"

Rosita waved. "Hey Gabe. This is Michonne and Andre."

"Nice to meet you," Michonne addressed, shaking the man's hand.

Father Gabriel sensed her astonishment at his appearance and he chuckled. "I'm here as a shoulder to lean on or an ear to talk to," he offered.

"That's really cool," Andre awed before he saw the pond. "Oh! Do you have fish?!"

"Andre!" Michonne snapped as they watched him run off for the water.

Rosita rested a hand on Michonne's shoulder and pointed to a couple of women who were walking by the pond and took notice of Andre. They approached the boy with a smile and introduced themselves, which only seemed to excite the child.

"Michonne, he's safe here," she insisted and Gabriel nodded.

"We look out for each other here," he assured her. "You've come to the right place."

Michonne watched her son interact with the women quietly. The last time he had interacted with so many people, they had been at Fargo.

"I see you've met our resident man of faith."

They turned to see Rick approach with a smile on his face. It was plain to see that the man was happy to be home.

"Rick, good to have you back," Gabriel acknowledged with relief. "We were all wondering when you'd find your way back to Alexandria."

Running his fingers through his hair, Rick nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's been a little while," he muttered before looking over at Michonne. "You okay?"

Her body warmed under his tender gaze and she pointed out Andre, who had been joined by two other children at the edge of the pond.

"Rick this place..." They could she was hesitating to commit to the exact words to describe the place. Rick came to stand next to her, prompting Rosita to tilt her head at Gabriel and the two headed over to investigate what Andre was up to. Rick waited patiently by Michonne's side as she gathered her thoughts.

Even at Fargo initially or the school, she had never felt so hopeful about a place in her life. Something about Alexandria and the people inspired something in her. Stirred something in her.

"His father gave up because he thought a place like this would never exist again," she murmured so only Rick could hear. He saw her eyes water as she watched her son burst out laughing with the other kids. She watched Gabriel and Rosita engage with the two other women, various weapons visible and ready, yet there was an ease. An awareness about them. Vigilance.

"It's not perfect, Michonne. We've fought and bled for this place. We've lost people for this place. We've killed... It's still a work in progress, but it's here and it's ours... it's yours." She glanced over at him, transfixed by the intensity in his eyes. "You're gonna help me make it better... for Andre and Carl and Judith."

For a moment the world faded away. All of the anxieties Michonne held melted and any concern Rick had about her and Andre's ability to adapt to this new place disappeared.

It was just them and they understood each other completely.

Nodding, she wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, turning to look back over at Andre, who was waving her over.

"Okay, Rick," she whispered resolutely, waving back to her son. "Okay."

* * *

 **A/N: Please read and review! Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I don't have much to say about this chapter. I appreciate the reviews for chapter 7, they were very encouraging. Please enjoy!**

* * *

The rest of the evening went about as well as could be expected for the new arrivals. Rick took over for Rosita in showing Michonne and Andre around, but by the time they reached the makeshift stables where the horses were kept, it was clear that the long trip and general excitement of a new place had exhausted them. Andre's eyes were dropping and he was leaning against his mother as he fought to pay attention.

"I think the rest can wait till tomorrow," Rick suggested with a chuckle when the boy knocked over an empty pail. Michonne smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it's bed time."

They slowly made their way to the Grimes residence, where Carl was waiting on the porch with Enid, talking quietly.

"Hey Michonne, Andre," Enid greeted, standing up. "How's your first day going?"

"Tiring," Michonne answered for her child as he slogged up the stairs. "He's about to collapse."

Enid grinned. "Okay, then I'll go."

Rick frowned. "Where are you staying?"

"With Sasha and Abraham. At least until I can get back to the Hilltop. None of my stuff is here."

The man nodded, catching the disappointment in his son's eyes as the young lady headed down the steps. "Enid, I'm gonna head to the Hilltop tomorrow to pick up Judith with Jesus. Why don't you come with me? We can pick up some of your things and you can stay in Alexandria for a little bit."

Enid looked surprised by the offer but eagerly accepted. "Thank you, Rick," she whispered. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," they responded.

"Thanks dad," Carl added and Rick nodded as he moved to open the door.

"Don't mention it... so... welcome," he added as they stepped into the house, allowing Michonne and Andre a chance to see their new home, at least for the foreseeable future.

"Where do we sleep?"

"Andre!" Michonne tweaked his ear and sighed, looking over at Carl and Rick. "Thank you. I appreciate this... I know it's a bit of an inconvenience-"

Rick shook his head and motioned to the small hall by the stairs. "Michonne, it's not an inconvenience. Here," he led the way to the downstairs bedroom. Carl had already placed the bag with their clothes in there. "This'll be your room. There's a bathroom and closet over there."

Michonne peered in, continuously amazed at what she saw. She could not remember the last time she had an actual bedroom for herself. She reached out and touched the sheets, the soft cloth caressing her fingers.

"Do I get my own room?" Andre asked as he fiddled with the closet door.

"No," Michonne answered, catching the understanding look on Rick's face as she turned to face her son.

"Mom!"

"Andre, just for now," she whispered tiredly. She saw Andre's pleading face and she sighed. "Andre, please."

He sat down on the bed with a huff of frustration. "Fine."

Michonne took a deep breath and pointed to the bag with their things. "Get ready for bed," she instructed as she moved back to the door where Rick stood.

"Goodnight, Andre," Rick called and Andre smiled.

"Goodnight!" He paused and then added, "Thank you!"

Rick nodded. "You're welcome."

Michonne gently closed the door behind her and leaned against the wall in the small hall. Rick shared her exhaustion, but mimicked her stance, waiting patiently for her.

"How are you feeling?"

She smiled. "Good..." Motioning to the bedroom, she offered an apologetic shrug. "Andre's already in love with this place... he just has... expectations. And I just..."

Rick snorted. "Don't worry about it. Besides, our whole group slept in that living room for the first couple of nights when we arrived here."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So I'm not as paranoid as I feel right now."

Rick chortled softly as he nodded and stood up straighter at the wall, watching the beautiful woman in front of him as she smiled at his reaction.

"No, you're the right amount of paranoid for any good mother in your situation, Michonne," he responded huskily.

They stared at each other for a moment before yawn escaped Michonne's lips and Rick snorted.

"Sorry."

He laughed. "No, I'm sorry. I'm keeping you up." He motioned to the bedroom door. "Get some rest." Remembering his promise to Enid, he pointed behind him. "I probably won't be here when you wake up, but Carl will be around and I'm sure Rosita and Sasha will stop by."

Michonne nodded, somewhat disappointed that she would not see him in the morning, but understanding his priorities. "Okay... goodnight, Rick."

Rick was about to say goodnight when the door opened behind her and Andre stuck his head out, eyes wide.

"Mom, the bathroom had a shower and a toilet and a sink," he informed her. "The shower is all glass!"

"Andre," Michonne sighed.

"Mom, come see!"

Michonne took a deep breath and offered Rick an exasperated look. "Goodnight Rick," she muttered. "I have to go check out a shower before bedtime."

Rick gave her a smirk and a wink. "It's important."

For a brief moment he saw her hesitate, torn between staying out in the hall and returning to the room. They gazed at each other, at once giddy and unsure about the prospect of tomorrow. Both heads of households were about to embark on something terrifying and exciting together.

"Goodnight."

He watched her disappear into the bedroom then headed out to the kitchen where Carl was standing at the island.

"They all set?"

Rick nodded, leaning against the counter. "Yeah... how's your shoulder?"

Carl ran a hand over his arm. "Still sore. Denise said it would have been worse if Michonne hadn't patched me up."

A smile came to Rick at the thought of Michonne, but he said nothing about it. Not that he needed to. Carl caught the look and hid his own smile.

"You gonna get Judith tomorrow."

"Yeah."

Carl snorted. "I can't believe you left her in Hilltop."

Rick's eyes fell on his son. "I needed to make sure you were okay."

Carl sobered up and for a moment remained silent. Thinking over his father's reaction to seeing him in the town, it was the first time he had actually run through the events and emotions that led his father to drop everything, including his daughter, to go racing back to the location where he was told his son had died. It had admittedly been a while since the group had been in any real danger and he'd forgotten about the more aggressively protective aspects of his father's personality that had kept them alive in the early years after the turn.

In the last couple of days, he had witnessed a few things about his father that he had not seen in a long time. It showed in Rick's initial reaction to Carl calling Michonne 'mom'. It showed in the way Rick interacted with the woman in general.

"Thanks dad," Carl murmured finally.

Rick moved around the island and pulled Carl into a hug. "I'm always going to come get you," he replied.

"Even when I may not be there?"

Rick pulled back and nodded. "You and Judith... every time."

Carl smiled and moved to leave. "Yeah, well, hurry and get her. I'm sure she'd love to meet our new house guests."

Rick's face changed as he watched his son leave. "Carl," he called.

"Yeah?"

He hesitated before looking down at the floor, scuffing them with his boots. "I don't say this much, but... your mom would be proud of what you did... with Michonne and Andre." Rick blinked and offered Carl a smile. "I'm proud of you too."

Carl returned the smile, his chest swelling at his father's words. Unable to respond, he just nodded and turned, leaving his father alone in the kitchen.

Rick stood there for a while, soaking in the silence as the craziness of the last few days finally settled in.

Alexandria now had three new residents and he knew there would be questions about the latter two by virtue of the bounty of food, guns, animals, vehicles, and other supplies they had thankfully agreed to bring with them. While many already welcomed Michonne and Andre into the fold, he knew there were a few hold outs in the community that would take issue with the high profile arrivals and especially the very different way Michonne raised her son.

He trusted Carl and Rosita would help mitigate those interactions while he was away, but had a suspicion the new arrivals residence in his home would agitate some. He would have to address it at some point, but there were a couple of other pressing matters that dawned on him as he moved out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his room.

Now however, for the first time in years, he felt something stirring within him and he knew without a doubt that their new houseguests were involved. He was just unwilling to admit which one.

In preparation for bed, Rick found his mind plagued with thoughts of Michonne and he admittedly did not sleep a wink.

* * *

The morning light alerted Michonne to the fact that she had overslept. Opening her eyes, she was momentarily disoriented as she looked around and instantly noticed Andre's absence.

"Andre," she called, sitting up and noting his missing katana. Momentary panic struck her, but she refused to yield to it. After checking the bathroom, she left their room and tiptoed into the main area, katana in hand. The domesticity of the kitchen and living room startled her, reminding her of how exhausted she had been last night to overlook the little details that made the house feel surreal.

Laughter drew her to the front of the house and she smiled when she spotted Andre and Carl sitting on the porch, eating breakfast and joking around. Her eyes welled with tears and she looked away, breathing deeply and taking in her surroundings.

So this was the new world she would inhabit. That her son would grow up in…

It looked familiar, as if five years of the dead razing the world had not occurred within the house, with its stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and light fixtures.

She remembered visiting homes like this on Sundays with Mike when they joked about moving to the suburbs. Sheathing her katana, she ran her fingers over the drapes on the windows, simultaneously amused and in awe at the thought of such a thing still existing. A giggle stifled in her throat.

"Mom?"

The front door opened and Andre leaned in, catching his mother's distant look.

"Hey… you okay?" She asked as she approached the door. Andre led the way back out to the porch.

"I'm fine."

"Morning," Carl greeted happily. He motioned to the food at the small table they had set up. "I wanted to wake you, but Andre said you were tired."

Michonne glanced over at Andre. "I wish you had woken me up..."

"You were snoring!" Andre protested as he sat back down. "You never snore."

Carl snorted as Michonne took a seat between them and she nudged him. "That's not funny."

He shrugged his good shoulder. "Here," he offered her some water. "I wasn't going to take Andre anywhere until you woke up. He just wanted to eat on the porch."

"Like in the books," Andre explained before stuffing some sliced apples into his mouth.

"You always want to do things from your books," Carl noted and Andre shrugged.

"They always have fun in the books."

Michonne tussled his dreadlocks fondly while motioning to Carl. "How's your shoulder?"

He touched it gingerly. "Healing. I'm gonna stop by Denise later to get it checked."

She grabbed a slice of apple and looked back into the house. "Your father left," she assumed and Carl nodded.

"He'll probably be gone all day," he told her, catching the disappointment in her eyes before she turned her gaze to the street. She watched people moving around, surprised to see them waving at the group on the porch pleasantly. Even at Fargo, she had been quick to note the rather wide berth the general community gave to Ellory. Even in his absence.

"Morning, Carl! Glad to see you back," one man greeted as he approached the house.

"Hey! Yeah, it's good to be back... Tobin, this is Michonne and Andre."

The man shook Michonne's hand with a warm smile and was surprised when Andre held out his hand to shake.

"Good Morning, sir," Andre beamed while his mother stifled a proud chuckle.

"Good to meet you both," Tobin responded. "I saw you briefly when the caravan arrived yesterday. That's quite the haul! I've never seen so many animals come in at one time."

"Michonne and Andre kept them at a school," Carl explained.

"Well, we're happy to have you and them!" He laughed. "I'm guessing you're staying here for the time being?"

"Rick said there were no other homes available," Michonne tested, watching the man's face carefully. He nodded and pointed to a house further down the block.

"Yeah. A couple of new arrivals already took one of the smaller homes and that one, that used to belong to the Andersons. Carol and Morgan will be using it when they return."

Carl's eyes widened. "Carol's coming back?"

"Yeah, just for the winter I hear. The Kingdom got an influx of new arrivals and she and Morgan offered to stay here while they figure out better living situations. Your father's been bugging her and Morgan about lending a hand here anyway, so it all worked out."

It amazed her that this man offered up so much information in front of complete strangers. Again, she could not help but make comparisons to Fargo, where the atmosphere was rife with secrets. Michonne had excused it as a security issue, but as she sat on the porch, observing Tobin and Carl casually converse, she slowly realized how much more at ease she felt about her decision to enter the gates. Her eyes moved to Andre, who was eagerly taking in all of the information disclosed like the little sponge she knew him to be. She also caught the blink and you miss it surveillance he performed of their surroundings. That instinct had not changed and she was comforted by it.

"Hey."

They turned to see Rosita walking up to the Grimes house, fixing her gloves and offering them a smile.

"Morning!" Andre replied happily.

"I hope you all got some rest last night. I wanted to introduce you to a few more people. Everyone's dying to meet you."

"Can we also see where the animals are?"

Michonne rolled her eyes. "Andre."

Rosita laughed, "Sure thing. In fact, Tobin," she check with the man for a second before continuing, "He can take you there after you finish up with breakfast." She glanced over at Michonne. "You can come with me. Rick was very specific about keeping you close today while he was gone."

The statement caused a brief fluttering in Michonne's heart, yet raised a slightly familiar uneasiness. She did not take kindly to being babysat. "Why?"

Noticing her disquiet, Rosita sat down next to the samurai while Tobin continued to engage Andre and Carl. "Rick wanted me to show you the walls, the guard points, etc. Give you an idea of how safe Alexandria is… Sasha's in charge of security here and after she saw the way you kept the school, she wanted your advice on. She'll be joining us later… are you okay with that?"

Michonne's surprise was evident, but it was replaced quickly by relief. Her eyes fell once more on Andre, who was watching her with anticipation. He had sensed his mother's momentary anxiety, understanding her lingering stress over entering into a new environment, but he wanted desperately to explore their new home and for her to do so as well.

"Mom?"

A smile graced Michonne's lips as she grabbed Andre and pulled him into a loving hug. Looking around the porch and beyond into the streets of Alexandria, she thought of all she had ever wanted for her and her son and realized it was finally being imagined.

"Yeah…" She kissed Andre's cheek, causing him to squirm in her arms. Laughing, she let him go and grabbed another piece of fruit. "Let's see our new home."

* * *

"Is that Rick?"

Rick had barely exited his car when Maggie appeared from her trailer, followed closely by Glenn, who was carrying Judith.

"Daddy!" The child squealed. "Daddy!"

Hurrying over, Rick took his daughter in his arms and held her close, releasing a breath he did not realize he was holding. As trying as the past couple of days had been, now everything seemed to come full circle as he held Judith.

"I'm sorry, honey," he whispered. "I'm so sorry!"

"Did you find him? Did you find Carl?" Maggie demanded as she watched Enid and Jesus get out of the car.

"He's alive," Enid announced as she ran over to give her parents a hug. "We found him. He's okay. He's back in Alexandria."

"He wasn't shot then?" Glenn asked and Rick shook his head, finally peeling his eyes away from his excitable daughter.

"No, he was hit, but a boy and his mother saved him. Patched him up, kept him safe at this school south of here," he explained, his thoughts flashing briefly to Michonne and Andre fondly.

"Maggie, you shoulda seen it," Enid gushed. "Two people took over this whole school, with booby traps, animals, a garden, weapons!"

Glenn frowned. "Where are they?"

Jesus snorted. "Brought them back with us. Carl's quite the recruiter. Got them to bring everything but the school and the walkers with them. Drove up here in a damn snow plow."

Maggie grinned at the news, relieved that the journey had not ended in tragedy. Grabbing Glenn's hand, she motioned for them to follow her back to their trailer. "Come on, you can tell the rest over breakfast."

As they walked back up the hill, Rick caught sight of Jesse, watching them in surprise from where she was hanging laundry. For a brief moment, Rick felt compelled to go talk to her, eager to clear the air over his behavior towards her son. Yet, as he felt Judith shift in his arms and thought of his new houseguests, the urge to be better and avoid the mess he became around the blond woman fell upon him. So he chose to avoid her. He resumed along his original path and headed towards the Rhee's trailer.

"Rick!"

Stifling a groan, Rick slowed, allowing Jesse the opportunity to catch up with him.

"Hey," he mumbled and she bit her lip, placing her hands on her hips. It was clear she was trying to appear calm, yet he caught the telltale signs of discomfort and latent attraction.

"Did you find him? Did you find Carl?" she asked.

"Yeah… he's alive and safe…"

"Oh thank God," she gasped. "After you left… I was so worried." She shifted. "I… about Ron-"

As furious as he had been and as disgusted as he was about what had transpired, Rick knew there was not much he could do. Carl thankfully survived his wound and despite Rick's urges to exact punishment, it was out of his hands to do so. Agreements between the settlements left discipline for infractions in the hands of the leadership from which the person resided. Luckily for Ron Anderson, his mother had moved to Hilltop prior to his and Carl's departure, otherwise Rick would have been in charge of meting out justice.

"Don't," he interrupted, holding Judith closer to him. "Carl's safe and that's all that matters now."

"Yes, but the best thing for Ron and Carl-"

"Jesse, I think the best thing for Ron and for Carl is if Ron never goes out on a run ever again. Some people aren't cut out for it."

Jesse's eyes widened, but she did not argue with him. She watched Rick clutch Judith close and looked down at her hands.

"Rick… about us-"

"Rick!"

They turned to see Maggie standing at the door of her trailer, eyes narrowed. "Come on! Sorry, Jesse, but we've got actual things to discuss," she announced, running a hand sensitively over her swollen belly. "You and I will talk later about Ron."

Rick hid a smile at his friend's irritableness. While tolerable of the Andersons presence at the Hilltop, Maggie had never been good at hiding her aversion to the widow.

"I'll see you later, Jesse," he mumbled before heading over to where Maggie stood. Setting Judith down to head inside, he pulled the Hilltop leader into a warm embrace. "Thank you."

She snorted, pulling away and glanced back at Jesse's dejected face before she slammed the trailer door behind her. "Bitch can choke for all I care, and her son too."

"Maggie," he sighed. " _I_ drove her here… not the other way around…"

Maggie continued to rub her stomach ruefully, watching as Jesus played with Hershel Jr. and spoke excitedly with Glenn and Enid. "Yes, but you did drive her here… specifically with that son… who shot yours, by the way."

"I'm aware."

Noting his solemn expression, Maggie sighed. She knew the Andersons were a sore subject for Rick, especially in light of recent events, so it was unfair to throw his disastrous affair with the widow in his face. In an attempt to change subjects, she nudged Rick playfully and motioned to Enid.

"So who's this mother and son fantastic duo Enid was talking about?"

The immediate change in Rick's demeanor surprised Maggie, along with the little smile on his lips. There was an excited glint that she had never seen before and she was anxious to understand the origin.

"Well?" she pushed and he grinned.

"Michonne and Andre," he informed her. "And I can't wait for you to meet them."

* * *

Michonne and Andre's first day went by relatively quickly. Andre spent most of his time with Carl, meeting new children, while Rosita and Sasha provided Michonne with a much more intimate tour of Alexandria. They showed her the armory, the guard posts, and the secret tunnel out of the community. It was clear that they were trusting Michonne with a lot of information right out of the gate and as the day wore on, she began to reciprocate, providing them with advice and agreeing to help with improving the security of Alexandria.

By the time Rick returned home, it was much later than anticipated. An unexpected visit from Ezekiel had delayed their trip, leading them to run into a small herd of walkers. While they had been easily dispatched, the encounter had left Rick covered in walker guts, forcing him to keep his greeting brief before disappearing into his bedroom to shower and change.

When he finally came down stairs, he found Andre, Carl, and Enid in the kitchen, crowding around the stove. Andre, as small as he was, stood level with the other two with the help of an apple box while he helped stir whatever was in the large pot before them. It was an adorable sight that made Rick immensely grateful to be home. As much as he loved Glenn and Maggie, the presence of the Andersons at the Hilltop had soured an otherwise wonderful reunion. He was eager to wash the taste of it away.

"What are you three doing?"

"Carl and Andre cooked," Enid announced with a playful grimace, coming around to sit on one of the stools at the island.

"It smells delicious."

"Thank you," Andre stuck his tongue out at Carl.

"Did you have a good first day, Andre?" Rick inquired, leaning against the counter and watching the child and his son stand side by side.

"It was great! Tobin showed us where the animals were and I got to see Father Gabriel's school… Denise too," he added, motioning to Carl's arm.

"You think you're gonna like living here?"

They all smiled when Andre nodded eagerly, encouraged by his positive interactions with what they hoped he considered his new home.

"Where's your mother?" Rick asked and Carl snorted, pointing to the living room.

"She's with Judith."

Rick hesitated slightly, still growing used to hearing his son respond in such a way, but he turned and left them to finish dinner. He found Michonne sitting cross-legged on the floor with Judith, a few of her books, dolls, and cups on the rug around them, along with Michonne's katana. Rick's heart swelled at the sight, paralyzed momentarily by how instantly intimate the mother and child looked, interacting with each other as if they had known each other for four years. They talked quietly with each other, but it was clear that Michonne was not patronizing the girl, as some others tended to, but engaging her energetically.

Noticing that she now had an audience, Michonne looked up in time to catch Rick's surprise before he quickly altered his facial expression.

"I see you two have been introduced."

"Sorry, I've commandeered your daughter," Michonne greeted as he entered the space. She admired how well he cleaned up and the way his recently washed hair stuck to his brow, biting back the urge to brush her fingers through them.

"Can I see it now?" Judith asked, completely ignoring the arrival of her father in favor of continuing her interrogation with the fascinating, gorgeous woman she discovered upon arriving back home.

Michonne smiled, watching as Rick lowered himself down beside them. "In a minute… she is quite the handful," she commented as Judith reached for her katana.

"She is." He watched as Michonne gently moved the sword out of Judith's reach and handed the child one of her dolls with a small knife in its hand.

"Here, you should practice with this first," Michonne instructed before turning her attention to Rick. "Hi."

Rick could not help but grin. "Hey…" She looked more relaxed than yesterday and he could not help but wonder if that was due to being in Alexandria, or being close to him and his family. He secretly hoped for the latter, but was inclined to believe the former until proven otherwise. "How was your first real day in Alexandria?"

"Good… Rosita and Sasha showed me the ropes… You have more people than I expected."

"We're at capacity right now," he admitted, observing Michonne as she helped Judith with the toys. He was shaken by how natural she looked and how well Judith accepted her attention. As she had gotten older, Rick's daughter had become more particular about who she allowed to touch her. A reaction, he assumed, to being passed around frequently as a child during their time on the road. A part from the original group that had arrived at Alexandria three years prior, Judith had not taken to anyone else, yet she clamored over the woman, eagerly interrupting to ask questions.

"Do you kill the monsters with the sword?" Judith asked, reaching out again for the katana.

"Yes, so it's not a toy." Michonne gently guided Judith back towards an action figure. "Have the numbers been pretty steady since you got here?"

Rick shook his head. "We've encountered some dangerous people who wanted what we had. We lost a lot of people fighting them."

Michonne nodded understandingly. "When?"

"A couple of years back."

"And now it's safe?"

Rick snorted, drawing her attention away from Judith. He pulled out his gun and placed it on the floor right next to her sword pointedly.

"It's never completely safe."

She stared at him for a moment, grateful for his honesty. It made her smile as she instinctively picked Judith up and moved her away from the weapons once again. "They want me to help with security."

Relief washed over Rick's face at the news. He had been hesitant about putting too much on her at once, but it seemed that that was exactly what she wanted. To be integrated into the community as soon as possible rather than be treated with kids' gloves.

"Great. Then maybe you can join me on patrol in the morning," he suggested, somewhat jokingly. His heart skipped a beat when she laughed.

"Sure thing."

"Michonne!" Judith called, pulling them out of their conversation as she raised up her doll. "Is this right?"

Michonne shook her head and picked up her katana, placing it securely on her lap. "No, but that's because it's a doll, here." She unsheathed the blade and Rick watched in stunned silence as she reached out to take Judith's hand, carefully gliding her fingers over the edge. "You feel how sharp it is? I know you thought this was cool earlier, but remember, it's a weapon, okay? It's for the monsters."

"Okay," Judith replied, suddenly sobered by the seriousness in Michonne's voice. The little girl listened intently as Michonne began to explain the history of the sword, glancing occasionally over at Rick to gauge his reaction.

All day she had wondered about this. As impressed as she was by Alexandria, the one thing that seemed lacking was the preparedness of the children. Running and playing was all well and good, but it had become increasingly clear to her that Andre was ahead of the curve in his age group. The older teens, such as Carl and Enid, were obviously fit to be beyond the walls, but she worried about the little ones and found herself instantly concerned about Judith the moment she met the girl.

"Daddy, may I have a sword?" Judith asked, attempting to wrap her fingers around the hilt.

"No," Rick responded, picking up his gun and putting it back in the holster. "Be careful." Michonne caught his eyes and he frowned. "What?"

"She should learn. How to use a knife, she should learn… if she doesn't already," she added carefully. When he did not respond immediately, she stood up and grabbed her weapon. "Sorry… it's your house and I shouldn't have-"

"You're right."

Michonne stopped, but before she could respond Andre came bounding into the room.

"Dinner's ready!" he announced, immediately gravitating towards Judith. "Are you hungry?" Judith nodded and Andre grinned, taking her hand from her father's without a thought. "Good, 'cause I made chili."

"I made chili!" Carl yelled from the kitchen.

"I helped!"

"You stirred!"

"Andre, be careful," Michonne breathed anxiously as her son pulled Judith to her feet and proceeded to march back into the kitchen with her in tow. "Andre!"

"I did so help!" they heard him counter as Judith giggled. "Enid, tell him!"

Michonne offered Rick an apologetic look. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't be," he cut her off, getting to his feet as well. "I'm glad they're getting along. I think she's excited to have someone closer to her age in the house."

"Andre always wanted a little sister, so it works out," she quipped right as Andre called them into the kitchen once again.

"Come on! We're gonna eat at the dining table! Like in the books!"

"Everything is from your books," they heard Enid point out.

"Because they're having fun!"

Rick grinned. "Sounds like he's wanted more than just a little sister."

They locked eyes, the giddiness of last night returning once more. Rick thought back to just a moment prior, and the scene of Michonne and his daughter. Of Carl and Andre in the kitchen. Of Andre with Judith… And now the simple sight of seeing Michonne smile… It was breathtaking…

"You're right," he whispered and she frowned, unsure of his meaning. "About Judith, needing to learn. You're right…" He looked down at his feet. "I was waiting for the right moment to begin to teach her. And looks like that's now."

Michonne understood. Again, unspoken, something familiar yet altogether unique was forming and there was no need to elaborate. Reaching out, she brushed a hand along his arm comfortingly before she moved away to join the others at the table. Rick followed closely after, sitting down at the head. Carl insisted that Michonne sit at the other end.

"On a scale of one to ten, how hungry are you?" Andre asked as he placed a bowl in front of Rick.

"Eleven."

Enid smiled, sitting down across from Andre. "Fifteen."

"Twenty two," Carl chimed in.

"Twenty three," Michonne teased, excited to engage in such a diversion. This was something she used to do with Andre when they were on the road, to provide a bit of levity for them. Now, it reminded her of when her parents used to play the little game in the car on long road trips. As she sat at the table, watching her sons interact, watching Judith bounce in her chair, and Rick laugh, her heart swelled.

She felt home.

"Mom?"

Blinking, she gasped when she felt tears fall down her cheeks. Andre and Carl looked concerned. Judith had jumped out of her chair and was tugging at her shirt, offering a napkin. Rick's face was unreadable.

"I'm fine, honey, thank you," Michonne assured the small girl, caressing her cheek and taking the napkin. "I'm okay, sorry."

Judith smiled. "It's okay. Daddy cries too sometimes," she whispered loudly.

Michonne grinned. "Really," she caught Rick's eyes. "I wonder what about."

He returned the gesture and her heart skipped a beat. "You'll just have to stay and find out."

Carl and Enid exchanged amused glances while Andre was too busy digging into his chili to notice this time around.

"It's gonna get cold, Mom," he scolded, breaking the two parents out of their revere. They shared one more look.

"Okay," Rick muttered, his pulse racing under Michonne's piercing stare. "Let's eat."

* * *

A knock at the door startled Michonne and Andre out of their sleep. They snatched their katanas off of the nightstands as they sat up, bleary eyes fixed on the door.

"Be ready," Michonne muttered, still struggling to see through the fog of the night. She got up from the bed and carefully approached the door, glancing behind her to see Andre standing by the bed, eyes wide and sword at the ready.

"Michonne?"

The sound of Rick's voice instantly calmed Michonne and she opened the door slightly to let in the hallway light. On the other side, Rick was dressed in a light grey shirt and jeans, along with his trademark boots. Even so early in the morning, she could not help but admire how attractive he was.

"What?" She mumbled sleepily and he smiled at her slight annoyance.

"It's time to earn your keep," he told her quietly. When he caught her confused look, he snorted and motioned behind him. "I'm going on patrol and you're coming with me."

Michonne's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, you were serious?" He nodded and she hesitated, glancing over her shoulder.

Rick caught the look and followed her gaze to see Andre standing by the bed with his katana. Realizing that his early morning wake up call had not been well received, he immediately changed tactics.

"Carl has an extra bed up in his room," he offered. "Andre can stay up there..."

A brief moment passed before Michonne took a quick breath and nodded, looking down at herself before she felt her cheeks warm. "Um... okay... just... uh... give me a moment," she grumbled, gently closing the door in Rick's face. He waited outside and heard her move around the bedroom. "Hey baby," he heard her say. "Go upstairs and stay with Carl while I'm gone."

"Where are you going?" Andre's voice seeped through the door.

"I'm gonna help Rick. I'll be running a patrol, around Alexandria's perimeter with him," she explained. There was a thud. "Damn it."

"Mom!"

"I'm fine."

After another beat, the door opened again and Michonne stepped out into the hallway, katana on her back and a small pistol on her hip. Slowly, Andre appeared behind her, dragging his sword and clutching his pillow drowsily.

"Morning," he yawned and Rick patted him on the back.

"Morning, Andre," he replied warmly. "Why don't you head upstairs."

Rubbing his eyes, Andre moved passed his mother and stumbled towards the staircase. "Okay," he mumbled. He got a couple of feet away and then looked back at them. "Don't patrol too long… We have chores."

"Andre, you don't need to worry about that," Rick responded, surprised that the child was so concerned about such things.

"The animals need to be fed," Andre informed them insistently with another yawn.

"The animals are fine," Rick assured him. "You can go get some more sleep."

"But the pigs…"

Michonne rolled her eyes. "Andre, go back to bed," she snapped impatiently, knowing this would devolve into a debate about who was supposed to take care of the piglets if she did not put an end to her son's tired stream of thought.

"Fine," Andre conceded grudgingly.

Rick and Michonne watched him stagger away, holding back smiles as the small child grumbled to himself and disappeared around the corner. They exchanged an amused glance before Rick motioned towards the front of the house.

"Shall we," he indicated and she followed him towards the door, slowing only when her stomach growled.

"We're not gonna grab something to eat?" She asked and he snorted, opening the front door to walk out.

"Kitchen's closed," he called over his shoulder.

Michonne bit back the smile and readjusted her katana, a warmth washing over her as she followed Rick out the door and into the cool, dark morning.

* * *

For the fourth time since they had left the gate, Michonne yawned loudly, causing Rick to chuckle.

"Get enough sleep?" Rick asked and Michonne snorted.

"Just a little tired," she muttered. "I'll be fine once I get moving a bit."

"Carl said you and Andre normally woke up early," he pointed out, prompting her to smirk.

"Yeah, well, it's easy to wake up early when you've slept on five year old gym mats for months, then an old mattress and six hundred thread count sheets have a way of lulling you to sleep like a baby."

Rick laughed. "Yeah, well, how about a few months on a prison cot?"

Michonne raised an eyebrow. "Is that a vague admission about your life before the turn and your inability to avoid the police?" She asked humorously and he shook his head.

"No... we were at a prison... before all of this." He glanced over and caught her eyes. "But you're not too far off."

"In what way?"

"I used to be a sheriff," he explained and she snorted.

"Of course you were, now it all makes sense." He shot her a confused look and she stifled a laugh. "When we ambushed you, there was a look in your eyes..."

"Yeah, shock, at being bumrushed by an eight year old with my Colt Python and a katana."

"Your Colt?"

"I had that gun for a long time… got me out of some scrapes."

"And then you passed it on to your son."

"I wanted him to have it when he got old enough to go out for runs on his own. Seems like he wanted Andre to have it."

She chortled. "More like Andre stole it." Catching his eyes she smiled. "At least initially."

Rick put his hands on his hips, feigning disapproval. "I'm starting to regret bringing you back here."

When she smiled, his heart skipped a beat while she gently brushed by him. "No you're not."

The forest echoed briefly with the sound of their laughter as they continued along the path. Rick watched Michonne when she softly brushed her locs out of her face as she stepped over rocks and branches. She was always deliberate in her movements, eyes hooded with sleep yet somehow still alert.

"So... what about you? How did you learn all of those techniques?"

Michonne shrugged. "Oh you know… I spent a lot of time out there, doing what I needed to do… plus, I watched a couple Bruce Lee and Quinten Tarentino movies..." When he snorted, she nudged him. "Don't laugh. It's half true."

"What's the other half?"

"I used to fence in college."

"Really?"

"Does that surprise you?"

"No, I'm sure you were very active in college."

She stopped and tilted her head at him incredulously, hiding the smirk when she caught the blush creeping up his cheeks.

"I just meant… you seem very disciplined… I'm sure fencing helped hone those skills," he mumbled.

"I honed my skills by protecting my son."

Rick turned to face her completely, leaning against a tree and watching as she listened to the forest around her.

"Michonne," he drew her attention. "You've done an excellent job with Andre."

"I've done the best I can."

He was quiet for a moment, allowing the rustling of the trees and faint cricket chirping to wash over them as they stared at each other.

"You're a wonderful mother."

"Same."

His eyes widened and she rolled her eyes. "I meant you're a wonderful father…"

"Well, now that we've complimented each other thoroughly…"

A chill shot up his spine when she smiled. Breaking away from his gaze, she proceeded back along the well-worn path, dragging her feet a bit through the dirt and listening carefully before she banked right.

"Where are you going?"

She motioned to her heading. "I heard something."

"And?"

Michonne turned to him, a mischievous gleam in her beautiful brown eyes. "Let's see where this goes."

Rick placed his hands on his hips. "I don't want to see where that goes. I want to finish the patrol and get back."

An arched brow and a twitching lip betrayed Michonne's amusement. "Are you afraid, Rick Grimes?"

"No."

"It's just the woods."

"Yes, and those noises are probably walkers."

Michonne winked at him. "Don't worry, Rick. I'll protect you too."

He watched her move off of the path and felt compelled to follow her. Trailing Michonne, he smiled to himself as he watched her hips sway, the sudden urge to be closer to her coursing through him.

"Michonne."

"Yes?"

"What were you… before the turn?"

"A lawyer."

"Yeah, of course you were… a katana wielding, cheese making, law practicing, gardening, crude bomb maker… you're practically the perfect woman."

She glanced back at him and he winked, moving to fall in step with her so that he could lean into her ear. "You did blow up my car," he murmured huskily, causing her to shiver a bit.

"Andre did that."

He stopped and looked down at her, a teasing smirk on his lips that matched hers. He could not recall the last time he had enjoyed himself as much as he did right now.

"Well, then I suppose you are perfect… I knew there was a reason Carl liked you so much," he quipped.

"I thought you were regretting bringing me and Andre back."

"Not Andre. Just you."

She was about to respond in kind when movement over his shoulder drew her eyes. Instinctively her hand went to the hilt of her sword. "There's a walker heading this way," she whispered and he tilted his head to the side, leaning in slightly so that their faces were a hairsbreadth apart. His breath tickled her skin.

"I thought you were going to protect me."

Pulling the blade out, she mimicked his gesture. In the briefest moment, she saw his eyes flash to her lips and her breath hitched, but she swallowed her physical reaction to it and stepped around him, brushing her hand on his arm lightly.

"Rick Grimes, the leader of Alexandria."

"I've learned how to delegate."

She burst into laughter as she quickly dispatched the walker. Rick knew he would never grew tired of hearing that sound.

"So have I. And I delegated Andre to blow up your car." She wiped off her blade and crouched down to check the pockets of walker. "Still want to go back to Alexandria?"

When he did not respond immediately, she looked up to find him watching her with a strange look on his face. When she smiled, he smiled back and shook his head, much to her stunned relief.

"Let's stay out for a little while longer."

* * *

Over the next several days, Michonne and Andre spent time becoming more familiar with Alexandria. Carl and Enid accompanied Andre during the day, giving him time to play with the other children, but also showing him their secret escapes and hidden stashes of comics. It was an introduction that overwhelmed the young boy, yet brought he and Carl closer as they got to learn more about each other.

After the initial meeting between Andre, Michonne, and Denise to discuss Andre's mental health, Andre privately asked his mother if Rick, instead of her, could join him at his sessions with Denise. At first Michonne was hurt by the request, but Denise reminded her that while Michonne had witnessed Andre's difficult upbringing and protected him, Rick and Carl were the first people Andre had opened up to about his past. It made sense that he would want to continue that trend, particularly with a secure male figure. Something he clearly lacked his entire life.

It was not an easy thing for her to accept, but as she watched Rick and Andre interact in the mornings and evenings when they were all in the house, she understood. The longer she observed Andre interact with Rick's family and the Alexandrians, she understood.

Despite his best efforts, Rick was constantly drawn away from his house during the day through leadership obligations he had shirked when he left to find his son. For the first few of days after returning with Judith, his only interactions with Michonne were during their early morning patrols, a time they both savored before the rest of the day separated them, and in the evenings. He was touched to be included in Andre's therapy sessions and would touch base with Michonne about it at night, careful not to divulge any information Andre explicitly begged him not to share.

It was difficult at first for them to find a balance, with Michonne and Andre used to being on their own for so long and Rick, having spent the last three years forgetting what it was like to have so many in one space. It took time to navigate, but they enjoyed every minute of it.

To the surprise of several mothers in the community, Michonne was now showing up occasionally at Father Gabriel's sanctuary with Judith, dropping off the little girl with a wave before joining up with Sasha or Rosita. Even during Rick's tryst with Jesse, the widow had never gotten along as well with the child.

For the most part, the two new additions to the community was seamless. In fact, they were well into week two before any real issue came up.

Rick had finally managed to wrestle himself away from leadership duties to steal some time alone with Carl. Enlisting his help, the Grimes men found themselves clearing out the garage of the old Anderson house, where Carol and Morgan were now living. Rick's promise to Andre about a place of his art weighed heavy on his conscience and he took the opportunity to remedy it.

"He's gonna need space over there for the paint," Carl told his dad knowingly, picking up left over wire to clear the workstation Jesse had used for her sculptures.

"You think this'll be big enough?"

Carl snorted as he wiped the sweat from his brow, drawing Rick's attention. "Sorry, you just… you sound like you really care."

Rick frowned. "I do care."

The indignation caused Carl to smile. "I know, I just meant… more than the way Gabriel or Tara care… you reminded me of when I used to eavesdrop on you and Mom… when you were wrapping my Christmas presents." Carl motioned around to the effort they were putting into making this space ready for Andre. "You sounded like that."

Realizing what his son was implying, Rick smiled slightly and returned to shoving abandoned tools into boxes. "He's like Judith… he doesn't remember the time before all of this." His heart constricted, recalling the awful memories Andre told Denise about during his sessions. About Ellory and the way his mother was treated. "I want him to have a place where he can make good memories."

Carl caught the determined look in his father's eyes and nodded, understanding the desire to protect the fearless young boy. "Yeah, me too."

"Rick!"

They turned to see Agnes Thomas, one of the older residents of Alexandria, running up, waving frantically at them.

"Agnes-"

"Rick, you need to come quickly. It's Judith!"

Rick's heart stopped and he dropped the box. "Where is she? What happened?"

"That woman has her outside the gate and refuses to bring her in!" At this, Rick was confused as he rushed out of the garage, followed closely by Carl and Agnes.

"What happened?" Carl demanded and Agnes clutched her chest.

"She's out there with Judith and there are walkers!"

A small crowd was gathering at the gate, which Sasha seemed to be guarding, preventing anyone from leaving. Aaron was on the wall, a worried expression on his face, but his gun was holstered as he watched intently whatever was going on beyond the community.

"Sasha!" Rick barked and she held up a hand.

"She's fine, Rick," she replied, shooting Agnes a disapproving glare. "The situation is completely under control."

Several people at the gate objected heavily in disagreement, but Sasha seemed to ignore them as Rick shoved his way to the front to see through the gate. What he witnessed was at once terrifying and beautiful.

Michonne was sitting on road just a few feet away from the gate, bloody katana and gun lying on the ground next to her. Two dead walkers lay nearby. She had her hands on Judith's sides, holding her steady as Andre stood on one of the block cars, pushing a mutilated walker off of a spike. Three others were impaled, wriggling around to get at Andre's feet as he expertly moved around them. Michonne leaned in and whispered something to Judith, who shook her head, holding up a knife while the walker lumbered towards them. Michonne adjusted the knife so that Judith was holding it properly.

Andre hopped off of the car and quickly sliced through the walker's legs, causing the creature to collapse before it instantly began dragging itself towards Judith and Michonne.

Again, Michonne leaned in to whisper to Judith, and again the child shook her head.

Rick watched as the walker inched closer to his daughter, his heart racing, yet he held his breath, waiting to see what would unfold.

"Aaron, for God's sake, just shoot it!"

Glancing up at the guard post, Rick saw Aaron glance down at him. What had initially looked like concern, Rick could now see was just annoyance about the crowd and it added to Rick's delayed reaction. If Sasha and Aaron were not eager to interfere, then he wanted to wait it out.

"Do you want to try?" he heard Michonne ask and after a moment Judith shook her head, backing up to sit down in Michonne's lap as the walker got closer. Brushing her long, brown curls out of Judith's face, Michonne kissed the girl's temple and gave her a hug. "Andre."

He dispatched the walker before he reached out and took Judith's hand, leading her around the corpse.

"Will I be able to cut through their legs like you did?" she asked and Andre shook his head.

"Your knife isn't sharp enough to do that, but it coulda gone through the eye, over here," he pointed out instructively while Judith listened. He turned the head a little and helped Judith point the knife directly at the eye socket. Audible gasps erupted from behind Michonne as Andre guided Judith to drive the knife through, which the child did with surprising severity etched on her little face. It was the same look that Andre had when he first learned to killed walkers. The children began rifling through pockets and Michonne heard more murmurings at the gate.

"Why do you go through their pockets?"

"Michonne!" Judith squealed in response, pulling out a small lighter and some cigarettes. Grinning, Michonne let her keep one, tucking it in her little pocket before she demonstrated how to use the lighter.

"Rick, you need to stop this," Agnes fumed. "This is absolutely ridiculous!"

"Agnes-"

"She's teaching your daughter how to smoke!"

Michonne stood up suddenly and finally turned to face her audience. "Do you want to know what the number one killer is for children these days?"

"Walkers?" someone ventured meekly and she shook her head.

"Ignorance." Rick felt his heart swell as he watched Michonne scoop Judith up in her arms, gently taking the knife in her hands and wiping it off on her jeans. "You give a child a cigarette and some matches, they can light a signal fire when they're lost. You teach them how to use a knife, or anything sharp really, and chances go up that they'll survive long enough to get home." She motioned to Andre. "You go through pockets and?"

"You could find snacks," Andre recited, cleaning off his own katana. "Or money to burn, or a weapon…"

"That's right." Satisfied by the cowed looks on some of the onlookers faces, Michonne pointed to the remaining walkers. "We're done for the day, Andre."

"Can I helped?" Judith asked and Michonne set her down, handing back her knife.

"Yes, you may. Andre, disarm them and then help her put them down. Be careful, Judith. Remember, they're still dangerous, honey."

"Yes, Michonne," Judith answered as she took Andre's hand again and joined him at the car.

At Rick's request, Sasha finally opened the gate, watching as he approached Michonne while the group at the gate talked amongst themselves. Carl came out as well and immediately headed over to where Andre and Judith were.

"Live walkers?"

Michonne picked up her sword and slung it around her back. "Nothing trains you better than the real thing, and you can't pretend with these."

He stared at her for a moment before turning to watch Andre help Judith line up her little kitchen knife, taking care to move her out of the way if the walkers jerked too closely. It was obvious that the three children had taken well to each other, as Judith did as she was told without fuss, wrinkling her nose when the knife went through bone. She would beam triumphantly before Andre scolded her that it was not a game. Carl bit back a grin as he helped move the corpses on the road out of the way.

"Now do it again, but take it seriously," Andre warned, one hand gripping Judith's shirt tightly while the other rested on his katana, ready to jump in at a moment's notice. "Try the ear."

"Why the ear?"

"Because the brain is in there."

"And it's easier to get to," Carl added, coming over to help Andre with his sister.

"Oh… ew!"

Judith squirmed as she sunk the knife in, letting go quickly as putrid fluids leaked out of the opening. Andre pulled her back and Carl laughed.

"I know, it's gross," Andre acknowledged matter of factly, "but you have to do it or you'll die. And I don't want you to die, so one more time."

"Andre, if she doesn't want to do it, don't push her," Michonne called, but Rick rested a hand on her arm, shaking his head.

"Let them finish," he insisted. She was stunned to find his eyes watery and red.

"Rick."

He gasped and wiped his face, lowering his eyes briefly as he choked back a flood of tears. It was overwhelming to witness such raw emotion on his face and she took his hand comfortingly, allowing him time to collect himself. A jolt of electricity shot up her spine when he laced his fingers with hers and he finally looked up into her eyes.

Words seemed unnecessary as they gazed at each other, warmed by what had just taken place and solid in the belief that what was slowly unfolding was a beautiful, scary thing.

"Mom!" Andre yelled, causing her to blink, but not look away.

"Mom!" Carl tried.

"Mom!" they both continued. "Mom!"

"Mom!" Judith joined in, startling Michonne and Rick into letting go of one another. For a moment they just stared at the confused child, unsure of how to proceed and too fearful of rejection to look at each other.

Before anyone else could say a word, however, Judith held up her hand. "I cut my finger."

Without another thought Michonne was at Judith's side, examining her finger before scooping her up in her arms. "Okay, we'll go to Denise and get that looked at. Speaking of which, Carl did you get your shoulder checked out?"

"No, but it feels fine."

"I told you to stop by the infirmary this morning."

"I know, but-"

Michonne nudged him, fixing him with a serious look. "Help Andre clean up the rest of the walkers and then head over there, okay?"

"Yes, mom," Carl grumbled, helping Andre get down from the car.

"Andre, make sure he goes."

"Yes, mom."

Carl snorted. "Narc."

Andre was scandalized. "What's that mean? I'm not a narc! Mom, what does that mean?"

Michonne sighed, shifting Judith around in her arms. "Carl, don't call your brother a narc. Andre, just clear these walkers from the road, please." She turned to see Rick staring at her once more with a look of awe on his face. She felt the blush creep up her cheeks under his gaze and thanked God for her darker skin as she carried Judith towards the gate. "They're your problem."

"Happily," he responded and she breathed deeply, thankful that the peeping crowd was gone. Thankful for a moment's peace with just the five of them. Thankful that the look in his eyes exuded confidence in her. Acceptance of her growing place in his children's lives. He truly looked happy and as she stopped momentarily to give him a chance to kiss Judith and tell her how proud he was of her, Michonne realized that for the first time in years, she was happy as well.

* * *

 **A/N: Trying to get a lot done in one chapter, so hopefully we can slow things down in the next one and hit a few key points for Rick and Michonne as they continue to form their little family unit. Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So... there's a lot going on in this chapter, so I wanted to say that quite a bit of time has passed since the last chapter. Things move fast in apocalypse time. Thank you all so much for your reviews! They were fun to read and great feedback. I'm super insecure sometimes about my writing so getting to read how you feel about the story helps. Keep it coming. Please enjoy!**

The aromatic smell of cooking bacon woke Rick out of his light sleep. Lying on his back, he stared at the ceiling, thinking on the one person who had plagued his thoughts since her arrival. The more he learned of her, spent time with her, enjoying her wit, beauty, and skill, the more he found himself dreaming of Michonne.

Admittedly a few were sexual in nature. Brief glances and slight grazes of the hands had evolved as the days passed between them, morphing into lingering caresses and wistful gazes. Rick's mind took care of the rest, beginning innocuously enough before escalating into such tantalizing and vivid territory that at times he was shocked awake by his own imagination. It was those mornings that Rick would make a hasty exit from the house.

However, most were strange dreams of the time before the turn. His mind played images of them in Atlanta, taking the kids to the Aquarium, or seeing a football game. For the days that he was afforded the opportunity to lay in bed, he allowed his mind to wander to her and think of how close they had become. How deeply he had come to care for her and Andre… how that care was very swiftly morphing into something more… something he had been without for a very long time.

"Judith!"

The eruption of laughter from downstairs drew him out of bed and after quickly getting dressed, he headed down to the kitchen to find Enid sitting at the table with Judith, wiping what looked to be oatmeal off of the little girl's face while Michonne stood by the sink, washing a few dishes. She wore a long-sleeved red shirt with dark jeans that hugged her body comfortably, while her katana was slung over her shoulder, gun on her hip.

"Morning," Enid greeted, catching sight of Rick first.

"Hey," Rick replied, patting her on the back and giving Judith a peck on the cheek before he moved over to where Michonne stood.

"Good of you to finally join us," she observed, motioning to the microwave. "Your breakfast is in there."

"Thanks."

A brief pause fell over them as they went about what had become a routine, nudging each other playfully and exchanging looks as they maneuvered around the kitchen. Enid watched the two carefully, Carl's own observations playing out in her head, but she decided against saying anything. She did, however, grab Michonne's attention and indicate her head towards Rick.

Michonne smiled and nodded, glancing over at Rick as she finished up with the dishes. "Rick?"

"Yes?"

"So, Enid and I were talking about heading to the Hilltop."

Rick swallowed the oatmeal he had shoveled into his mouth and looked up to see all eyes on him expectantly. "The Hilltop?"

Enid stood up and moved over to the island. "Maggie's close to her due date and I wanna be there to help out Glenn with the kids and stuff," she explained. "Since Michonne hasn't been there yet, we figured it would be a great time to go up together."

He nodded slowly, wondering why it had taken so long for him to even think of it. "I think that's a good idea," he whispered, catching her eyes and offering a smile. "We should all go to the Hilltop."

Smiling, Michonne reached out and rested her hand on his arm. "Tomorrow?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You want to leave tomorrow?" When she nodded, he smiled back at her, happy to oblige. It seemed like an age since she and Andre had come to Alexandria. They had made a home with him and his children, so it felt somewhat strange that she had not yet met the rest of his family. That would be remedied. He covered her hand with his, giving it a tender squeeze. "Okay…"

"Can I come?" Judith asked through a mouthful of oatmeal.

Rick nudged Michonne playfully. "Yeah, Judes, you're coming with us. Pretty sure Glenn would kill me if I didn't bring you along."

"Andre! Slow down!"

The peace of the kitchen was broken when Andre came barreling into the house, followed closely by Carl, who was carrying Andre's katana.

"You broke the strap," Carl snapped.

"Woah, woah, what's going on?" Rick demanded. "What's with all the running?"

"We're going to be late!" Andre insisted, tugging on Rick's arm. "Come on!"

"Andre, what's wrong?"

"Denise and Tara are going out this afternoon and won't be able to see us, so we have to go now," Andre explained urgently. "Come on. Please!"

Michonne leaned against the counter. "I've never seen you so eager to get over there before."

"Sasha said another storm might be coming through," Carl muttered as he tied the strap of Andre's sheath and moved the boy around so he could put the weapon on his back.

"I want to finish the tail part of my mural before it gets here," Andre added, jumping up and down in place.

Rick raised an eyebrow. "You can wait until the storm passes."

"If it lasts as long as it did the last time, I want to get it done before. Rick, are you comin'?"

The boy looked so eager that Rick smiled. "Okay, okay, let's go," he resigned, turning to Michonne, who also had a smile on her face. Their eyes met and she giggled.

"Hurry up," she encouraged. "Or the rain's gonna to ruin his whole day."

When his arm slipped around her waist, she gasped, surprised by what seemed to be a subconscious action on Rick's part as he pulled her close to him and pressed his lips lightly to her cheek. The others in the room held their breath as the two stared at each other in a brief stunned silence, faces inches apart and hearts beating erratically.

"Um," Rick started apologetically magnetized by her startling brown eyes, but she smirked and shook her head slowly.

"I'll see you later," she offered quietly, her warm breath caressing his skin and giving him new life.

"Yeah…"

Carl snorted. "You two need a room?"

His question broke them apart, blushing violently under the amused gazes of their children.

"Yeah… okay, see you," he muttered, giving her hand a quick squeeze before he grabbed Andre by the shoulders and ushered her out the door. "Let's go!"

Michonne watched them leave, taking in steadying breaths before she turned to see Carl and Enid standing at the island, grinning knowingly at her.

"What?"

"You and dad are getting really close," Carl pointed out and she rolled her eyes.

"That's typically what happens with people who live in the same house, Carl."

Enid nudged Carl. "He meant that the two of you clearly like each other… a lot."

Michonne's eyes widened. "You two are ridiculous."

Carl raised an eyebrow. "So you don't like my dad?" he asked, earning him a hand on the hip and a narrowed eye.

"Carl, you…" She stopped, realizing suddenly that it would do her no good to berate him for what was clearly a very acute observation. Sighing, she played around a bit with her bowl of oatmeal. "Leave it alone, Carl."

"Why?"

"Everyone thinks it makes sense," Enid added, alarming Michonne.

"Everyone? Are you two talking about Rick and I behind our backs?"

Carl snorted. "No, I'm talking about my parents behind their backs," he corrected pointedly. "Just like Judith does and just like Andre does."

The statement caused Michonne's chest to constrict painfully and she fell quiet for a while, thinking through that they had said. It was clear to the children she and Rick were getting closer, his actions just now only demonstrated that, but nothing had been explicitly discussed between anyone in the Grimes household. Carl and Judith both referred to her as mother and while Andre had not yet reached the point of calling Rick father, there was no doubt in Michonne's mind that the boy viewed him as such. They had slipped comfortably into a co-parenting role, but she was not ignorant to the growing feelings between them. Certainly they were attracted to each other, that much was obvious since they met, but it was not until recently that Michonne really thought about how she felt about Rick Grimes beyond sharing children with him. It kept her up at nights and occasionally woke her up in the morning.

A smile came to her face and both Enid and Carl snorted, nudging each other knowingly. It was the same look Rick got on his face when he thought no one caught him staring at Michonne.

"Okay, enough," Michonne muttered. "I like your father, Carl… that's about all I can offer you right now."

Understanding, Carl nodded and motioned to the door. "That's fine. We're gonna go, anyway."

"Where are you two off to?"

"To do what people who like each other do," Carl responded cheekily, taking Enid's hand as he led the way to the door.

Michonne's eyes widened and she pointed at them. "Not what grown folks do when they like each other."

Enid laughed. "No, that's for you and Rick."

"Get out!" Michonne ordered, unable to hide the smile on her face as the two teens hurried out the door. "And be safe!"

"Yes mom!" Carl called back.

Sighing, she picked up her bowl and joined Judith at the table, who had watched the entire affair quietly. "Hey sweetie, how are you doing?" Michonne checked the girl's bowl and smiled before she began eating.

"It's good," Judith complimented, watching Michonne and mimicking the way she ate her food.

"Thank you… everything okay?" Michonne noted the way the girl was looking at her and tilted her head to the side.

"Do you really like Daddy?"

It should not have surprised her that Judith was paying so close attention to the conversations around her. The little girl had recently picked up Andre's habit of eavesdropping and lately began offering opinions on arguments she had clearly not been present for.

"I do," Michonne replied quietly, observing the child as she thought for a moment, as if trying to come up with the right words. It was a strange feeling, waiting to hear what Judith had to say. As quickly and as deeply as she had fallen in love with the Grimes family, she was still aware that they were here due to the unbelievable sacrifice of another woman. It was something she would always respect.

"Okay, Mommy," she finally uttered, attracting Michonne's attention and causing her to ask a question that had been rolling around in her head since that day at the gate.

"Judith, honey," she whispered.

"Yes?"

Leaning forward, she tapped her finger to the little girl's arm. "When you call me Mom, are you doing it because Carl and Andre are doing it?"

Judith shook her head, shoveling some more oatmeal in her mouth. "No… Daddy asked me the same thing."

Michonne hesitated. "He did?" When she nodded, Michonne waited patiently for her to swallow before pushing a bit. "What did you say?"

"That your my mommy," Judith answered matter-of-factly, not catching the swell of tears in Michonne's brown eyes.

"That's all you said?" she choked, watching as Judith continued to eat.

"Yep."

Michonne covered her mouth, stifling a sob as tears ran freely down her cheeks. Judith finally looked up and frowned, growing quickly distressed by the state of Michonne.

"Mommy," she whimpered, reaching out to shake her hand. "Are you okay?"

Closing her eyes, the woman breathed deeply to regain her composure, her heart clenching as she looked down into Judith's bright, worried eyes.

"Yes, baby, I'm okay," she gasped, giving her little hand a squeeze and leaning over to kiss her temple. "I'm more than okay," she whispered into her skin before motioning to her food. "Finish your oatmeal."

"Okay."

Michonne watched her for a moment before she returned to her own food, wiping her cheeks and thankful no one else was in the house to witness that display.

"What do you want to do today?"

"Can we ride horses today?"

Grinning, Michonne nodded. "Of course! As soon as you finish breakfast." Reaching out, she ran her fingers over Judith's hair, her heart bursting at the little child's words.

Yes, she loved this child just as she loved Andre… just as she loved Carl… just as she loved…

She stopped herself, wondering for the first time if that were truly the emotion to describe how she felt about Rick Grimes.

* * *

"Rick."

"Yeah?"

"What did you do when you were my age?"

Smiling, Rick glanced down at Andre, who was walking slowly beside him, scuffing his heels on the pavement as they left the infirmary.

"I think my dad was pushing me to play a lot of sports."

"Like what?"

"Football, mainly… basketball. He wanted me to be an athlete."

"Did you play?"

Rick shrugged. "Over summer break."

"After school was done?" Andre clarified, recalling the term that came up a lot in his children's books. Adventures always seemed to happen during summer break. "Did you solve mysteries or rescue dogs?"

It took everything in Rick's power not to chuckle at that question. Andre's readings were clearly the majority of the access he had to the time of children before the turn and he based a lot of his assumptions on it. Amusing as it was, Rick quickly learned of Andre's sensitivity to his particular reaction to anything the young boy would say. Andre watched him in the same way Carl used to when he was that age, eager to be a man while still clinging to boyhood with a vice grip. He and Michonne had not discussed it, but it was impossible to deny the paternal role Rick had assumed in Andre's life. It was not something he took lightly.

"No… I think we tried to have adventures, but we just ended up swimming in the lake and playing basketball in the empty schoolyard. We weren't the most imaginative boys."

"Did you have brothers?"

Rick's heart panged slightly at the thought. "One… I had one brother…. I don't know what happened to him."

Andre nodded sagely, understanding how the madness of the turn had ripped families apart.

"I'm sorry."

They walked in silence for a little while, heading towards Carol and Morgan's home. Andre looked deep in thought, which only intrigued Rick.

"What are you thinking about?"

"The rain." There was a tense impatience in the boy's voice.

"You're really worried about it?" When he nodded, Rick looked around, catching sight of the gathering clouds. "I think you've got time."

Andre gazed up at him. "You think so?"

Smiling, Rick nodded. "Yeah…" They were quiet for a moment, enjoying the walk along the pavement as they neared the house. He watched Andre as he scuffed his shoes along the ground, tugging at the strap of his katana. While Rick had become accustomed to seeing armed children, the parental affection he felt towards the small boy made the sight heart wrenching. As with Carl and Judith, Rick felt a paternal protectiveness over Andre that had deepened the longer he and Michonne remained in the house.

"Did you want to play Monopoly tonight?" he asked quietly.

Andre was about to mention the conversation he and Carl had earlier with Sasha but stopped himself. He thought quickly about the interaction between his mother and Rick earlier that morning and previous mornings. It had not been lost on him how close they were getting and perhaps now was his chance to move things along.

"All of us? Mom too?"

"Of course. I think we can convince her to play."

"Are you going to make dinner?"

Rick snorted. "What do you want?"

"Spaghetti!"

"Really?"

"Carl said you could make spaghetti."

Shrugging, Rick rested a hand on Andre's shoulder. "Okay. I'll make spaghetti and we'll play Monopoly tonight. Sound good?"

"Sounds good."

The happy look on Andre's face was all Rick needed. "Hey, do you want me to help with the mural?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm free for a couple of hours, I can help you with some of it… if you don't mind?"

The child nodded excitably, taking Rick's hand as he began running through everything he wanted to accomplish at the wall that day. Rick's heart swelled with love for the boy and he could not help but laugh as they continued on their way.

* * *

When Carl returned to the house late in the afternoon, he was not expecting anyone to be home. He had heard that Michonne and Judith had been out riding horses and just now saw Rick and Andre still at the mural, taking advantage of the fact that the rain had missed Alexandria by a mere mile or so. Enid had gone to Sasha and Abraham's place to spend the rest of the evening.

A squeal alerted Carl to other occupants and when he climbed the stairs to Judith's room, he found her and Michonne sitting on the child's bed, Michonne gently brushing Judith's wet hair back into pigtails. Michonne had a towel wrapped around her head and they were both in different clothes from this morning.

"You're back," Michonne greeted while his sister waved.

"Yeah. What are you two doing here? I thought you were out?"

"We got soaked," Judith announced while Michonne laughed.

"We were caught in the rainstorm," she added. "Looks like it passed by here."

Carl snorted and sat down in a small chair in the corner of Judith's room, watching the two with a smile. "Yeah, we didn't get any rain. How bad was it?"

"Not too bad. But your sister and I have decided to spend the rest of the evening inside."

For a moment Carl was ready to provide the alternative for the evening in the form of Sasha's offer that morning, but just as he was going to tell her, the front door opened and they heard two pairs of footsteps come into the house.

"Mom!"

"We're up here," Carl answered, smiling when he heard Andre pound up the staircase, followed by Rick's firmer stride.

"Slow down," Rick called as Andre jumped the last couple of stairs before running to the door to stand beside his brother.

"Hey!"

"Oh my God," Michonne gasped upon seeing her son covered in blue paint. "What the…" Rick came into view and Judith burst into a fit of giggles while Carl snorted back his own laughter at seeing the man's face and arms smeared with the same paint. "What happened?"

"He started it," Andre confessed quickly, pointing up at Rick. Carl nudged him.

"You're such a little snitch."

"Stop calling me that!"

"Don't touch me!"

Carl took off down the stairs with Andre hot on his heels.

"Stop running in the damn house!" Rick barked, but he could not be bothered to go down to deal with them. Instead, he looked into Judith's bedroom to get a better look of the two on the bed. It was a warming sight.

"You look ridiculous," Michonne commented while Judith continued to point and laugh.

"We got a little excited with the paint today," Rick explained quietly, rolling his eyes when he heard a thud and then Andre uttering a high pitched squeal. "Enough!"

"Sorry," Carl called up before they heard the two boys unintelligible conversation continue.

"Why are you blue?" Judith asked as Michonne finished with her hair.

"Because your brother likes to play rough," Rick replied coming in to admire Michonne's work. "You two get caught in the rain?"

Nodding, Michonne stood up and stretched, exposing her toned midriff and causing Rick's pulse to quicken slightly. She caught the look he gave her and she quickly lowered her arms, feeling her cheeks warm before she glanced over at Judith, who was watching them intently.

"We went horseback riding, right?"

"Right! I killed a monster today," Judith told him. "Mommy let me kill it."

Michonne picked her up. "We were very brave today," she whispered, meeting Rick's gaze. "It was stuck in a tree."

Rick smiled, reaching out to tug on Judith's pigtails. "Aaron mentioned you took one of the horses, so I figured you two were doing some training. I'm glad it's coming along… I'll have to come out next time."

Judith wrinkled her nose. "Daddy, you stink."

Michonne leaned forward and sniffed before her face twisted as well, barely hiding a smile. "Yeah, that paint is strong."

"Daddy stinks!"

Rick raised his hand and reluctantly backed away from Michonne. "Okay, okay," he complied. "I get it. I need a shower."

"A long shower," Judith and Michonne responded simultaneously before they giggled, sitting back down on the bed.

"Yeah, okay… what are you two gonna do?"

"I get to do Mommy's hair now," Judith answered as she got up to stand behind Michonne. "You get pigtails too!"

Michonne caught Rick's smirk and she tossed a pillow at him. "What? All we need is Carl covered in the paint and you'd all look like the Blue Man Group," she pointed out, much to his annoyance.

"It's not that bad."

"It's bad."

Rick was about to retort, but the sight of Judith meticulously splitting Michonne's hair to make pigtails made him pause as his heart clenched. He could not help but think briefly of Lori and how despite the difficulties they had faced as a couple up until the end, she had sacrificed so much of herself and then her life, for their children and he would love always her for that.

Now, though, watching Judith with the woman who was, if not biologically, in all other sense her mother, Rick wondered where that left him and Michonne moving forward.

Catching the faraway look on Rick's face, Michonne tilted her head slightly. "Rick, you there?"

He blinked and then nodded. "Yeah… um… I'm gonna take a shower and then make dinner," he told her quietly.

"Okay," Michonne muttered, watching with concern as he turned to leave.

"Is daddy okay?"

"I don't know baby…"

"Is he tired?"

Michonne smiled. "I'm sure he is." Glancing over her shoulder, she caught Judith braiding her dreadlocks. "What exactly are you doing?"

"Your hair!"

"That's not what we discussed, young lady… what… okay, come here!"

Standing just outside the door, Rick leaned against the wall and smiled at the delighted squeals of laughter his daughter made. Carl and Andre came up the stairs, hiding smiles and nudging each other.

"What are you two up to?" Rick asked, startling them out of their quiet discussion.

"We were-"

Carl pinched Andre. "Nothing, we weren't talking about anything."

"OW! Mom!"

"Stop it, whatever you're doing," Michonne called from Judith's room while Rick shook his head at them.

"Andre, go clean up," he instructed as he headed for his own room. "Carl, stop pinching your brother."

"Yeah dad," Carl muttered while Andre remained silent, though Carl caught the strange look on the young boy's face before he headed down the hall to the other bathroom. It was a look he had seen several times in the past few weeks and he would make sure to ask Andre about it later.

* * *

"Hey, good you're here," Rick muttered when Carl and Andre finally showed up in the kitchen. After showering and changing, Rick had begun working on the spaghetti by himself. "Why don't you help set the table?"

"We're not staying for dinner," Carl announced as he moved around to take a sniff at the sauce his father was stirring.

"What?"

"Sasha invited us over for a movie night," Andre piped in excitedly and Rick frowned, noticing that their shoes were on and they were carrying their weapons, prepared to leave the house.

"When?"

"This morning."

This aroused Rick's suspicions along with the shifty way they had behaved earlier and that Andre kept glancing over at his brother for approval.

"So before you asked me to make spaghetti?"

Carl came around to stand next to Andre. "Abe's makin' something."

Now Rick knew something was up. "Abraham... you'd rather eat Abraham's food?" When neither boy could respond quickly enough, Rick fixed them with a steely gaze and waved the wooden spoon around. "Okay, tell me what you two are up to, right now."

"What's going on?"

Rick looked away from the boys and nearly dropped the pot at the sight of her. Michonne appeared from the stairs, wearing loose shorts and a flowing periwinkle tank top, carrying Judith, who was similarly dressed. Both now had their hair up in pigtails, with Judith looking particularly proud of her work on Michonne's dreadlocks. It was clear they both fully intended to stay in for the night.

"What?" Michonne asked, missing the obvious look he was giving her as she entered the kitchen to set Judith down in her chair.

"We're not staying for dinner," Carl jumped in swiftly, nudging Andre towards the front door while he maneuvered around his mother to snag up Judith.

"We're not!" Michonne clearly looked alarmed, while Rick's eyes narrowed.

"Andre and Carl are going over to Sasha's to watch a movie."

"Really?"

"Yeah, right after Andre begged me to make spaghetti too."

Michonne frowned, turning to her younger son. "You hate spaghetti."

"Does he?" Rick set down the spoon and leaned against the counter, zeroing in on Andre, who shifted nervously and glanced up at Carl for help.

"Yeah, well... um..."

Michonne placed a hand on her hip. "What's going on?"

Carl grinned and quickly ushered Andre out the door, ignoring Judith's protests to stay home. "Nothing, enjoy dinner! We'll be at Abe and Sasha's!"

"Wait!" Michonne attempted, rushing to the door in time to see them sprinting down the road. She watched them for a moment before turning to Rick, who was shaking his head and smiling to himself. "What? What did I miss?"

He hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether it was wise to even bring up or feign ignorance on their sons' machinations. However, as he watched her approach him with a soft smile on her face and an eagerness to be in on the joke, he was emboldened. They had avoided the subject long enough and it seemed ridiculous to continue. Instead, he would test the waters and take it from there.

"Do you like spaghetti?"

She rested her elbows on the counter and leaned forward, nodding and unintentionally providing him with a better look down her shirt. He blushed and returned to the food, determined not to think about how her shorts exposed her beautiful legs, her shirt clinging to her in all of the right places, arousing him.

"It's my favorite," she replied, finally taking note of the wanting way he had looked at her. She felt her skin tingle and her body warm.

"Well then... I think we've been set up by the boys."

It took Michonne a moment. Her eyes widened as realization fell upon her. "You mean they left us here together on purpose... like on a date?" When he nodded, meekly meeting her gaze to gauge her reaction, Michonne could not help but snort out a laugh and stand up straighter, surprising him with her cheerful response. "Okay."

He frowned. "Okay?"

She tilted her head to the side, taking a steadying breath as she made up her mind. "If it's a date, okay... if you're okay?"

She watched his face change from confusion to elation and her heart fluttered at the implication.

"I'm okay," he replied and she grinned.

"Good." Giddy, she came around and sniffed the pot, allowing her arm to graze his as she pushed to see. "You've already started out on the right foot, making my favorite meal."

Embracing the lightness that she seemed determined to stick to in order to bypass what should have been an awkward situation, Rick nudged her playfully and pointed to the cabinet in the corner.

"Why don't you help set the table?"

"Do you typically boss someone around on a first date?" She questioned jokingly as she found the plates as well as a bottle of unopened red wine. Glancing over her shoulder, she smirked and grabbed it as well, moving to set the table.

"No, just the ones I like... so I guess just you and Lori..."

They paused briefly to look at each other, the magnitude of this next step suddenly setting in. He saw Michonne hesitate and for a moment he feared she would reverse her position, a move that would devastate him.

Instead, Michonne offered an understanding smile. "Mike... he fucked up our first date..."

"How?"

She rolled her eyes at the memory as she went to gather two glasses and silverware. "He did too much and nearly burned his apartment to the ground... after that I always cooked."

Rick smiled and carried the food to the table, beckoning her to sit next to him. "Well, do you like Spaghetti-Os?"

She shrugged. "I've grown to like them," she admitted, remembering a time when canned food had been banned from her kitchen.

Rick put some in her plate with a snort. "That's too bad, because this doesn't even come close to tasting as good."

She burst into peels of laughter as she poured them both a glass of wine. Handing him his, she raised her hand and looked him in the eyes.

"To the kids," she quipped, but he stopped himself from clinking the glass. His eyes moved over her face before he shifted in his seat and leaned forward.

"To our kids."

Her smile fell momentarily as she stared at him, thinking through his intonation. Breathing deeply, she beamed and raised her glass higher.

"To our kids... and to whoever taught them how to be so wonderfully manipulative," she added with a wink.

Grinning, they tapped their glasses and sipped the wine, never breaking eye contact. As they set the glasses down, Rick reached out and gently took her hand in his, giving it a pointed squeeze. Her heart skipped a beat and without thinking she pulled the hand up to her lips, pressing a tender kiss to his fingers before she released him and lowered her eyes to her food, simultaneously shaken and exhilarated.

"Okay... so let's see how awful this really is."

* * *

"Andre."

The little boy looked up from scraping his feet along the pavement as they walked back home from Sasha and Abe's. "Hmm?"

"Why don't you call my dad 'dad'?" Carl asked, shifting Judith around in his arms so he could see Andre better.

The child shrugged, a little surprised by the question. "I don't know."

"He is your dad, you know." When Andre did not answer, Carl stopped in his tracks, fixing him with a hard look. "My dad… _our_ dad loves you."

"Does he?"

"Of course he does! And I think he'd like it if you called him that… I would."

"Really?"

"Yeah… why don't you start tonight when we get home."

"Um…"

"If they're still up, just tell him 'good night dad'. Once you start, it'll be easy."

Andre looked practically giddy at this point and grabbed Carl's hand, pulling him along. "Okay. Come on!"

* * *

"It wasn't me, by the way."

Michonne looked up from her half empty glass and frowned. "What?"

Rick finished the rest of his wine and put the glass down on the coffee table, pulling his legs up on the couch so he was as comfortable as she.

"I didn't teach Carl or Andre to be so manipulative," he explained humorously.

"Yeah, well, it happened somehow," she giggled, sipping the dark liquid slowly. "I certainly didn't do it."

"You sure about that?"

She shrugged. "Oh who remembers... perhaps it was Judith."

Laughing, Rick motioned to her hair. "She did a wonderful job with the pigtails by the way. You look adorable."

Michonne felt a fluttering in her stomach as she finished her wine and set down the glass. "You think so?"

He nodded. "Like a cross between Rudy Huxtable and the Bride from Kill Bill."

Michonne laughed, enjoying the ease in which they had slipped into a comfortable silence.

Dinner had been a quiet yet delightful affair, allowing Michonne and Rick time to learn more about each other as they blissfully played footsie at the table. It was an intimate experience that led to them moving to the couch with the rest of the wine, still engaging eagerly and maintaining physical contact.

It wasn't until just then that they both realized how intimately laced they were, their legs overlapping as they faced each other on the couch. Rick's hand, which rested lazily on her foot, now gently made a path up her leg, bringing goosebumps to her arms while their eyes connected.

"Your skin is soft," he whispered absentmindedly, loving the feel of her against his calloused fingers.

Sensing her cheeks warm, Michonne could not help but giggle a little as she self-consciously reached out to touch her leg as well. "I don't know," she replied meekly.

He noted her somewhat sheepish reaction and smiled, nudged her a little to grab her attention. "You talking about the little hairs on your legs?" When her eyes widened he snorted and shrugged apologetically, cradling her calf in his hand as his thumb drew circles on her sensitive skin. "It's not like anyone has time, or the proper tools, to shave often anymore," he pointed out.

Relaxing slightly under his discerning gaze, Michonne tugged playfully at the growing beard on his face, secretly enjoying the way it felt in her fingers. "Yeah, I'm aware."

Rick returned her tone with a laugh, his heart swelling at the heavenly sound she produced and his body reacting favorably to the way she touched him. "I've never had complaints about it." Michonne's jaw dropped and her eyes widened at the implication, a bark of laughter escaping her amused lips. Realizing how his words had sounded, Rick quickly shook his head. "That's not what I meant," he insisted, but she shrugged.

"Too bad... that's all I'm gonna think about now," she cheekily answered. For a moment they got lost in each other's eyes, the room growing warmer despite the cool night air coming in through the open front door. With Rick's hand massaging her leg and their bodies leaning ever closer, it was impossible now to deny the attraction between the two that had been so obvious to their children.

Unable to stop smiling, Michonne placed her hand over his as she continued her thought. "I remember when I was in middle school, I used to hate it."

"The hair?"

She nodded, her heart skipping a beat when he laced his fingers with hers. He rested his elbow on the back of the couch and propped his head up, expressing a deep interest in her story that she found endearing. He was still drawing circles on her the back of her hand, a subconscious action that relaxed her.

"When I was twelve, I was this amorphous black mass with braces and this god awful perm I insisted my mother give me to fit in better with the white girls..." Michonne paused briefly at the thought of her mom, swallowing the urge to cry. Rick waited patiently, giving her hand a gentle squeeze of encouragement. "These girls in my grade... I just remember one day they were wearing shorts and they all looked so pretty. At least all the boys thought they were pretty..." She inhaled sharply upon feeling Rick scoot closer to her on the couch. "I um... I went home and begged my mother to let me go to school in shorts the next day... I went and no one said anything. At least none of the boys did... but the girls..." Her face fell a little. "They made fun of the hair on my legs. Said I needed to shave... it was a strange learning experience."

"How so?"

She snorted. "It wasn't until I was much older that I got over it... Realized my body was my body and I shouldn't be ashamed of it."

Rick's head tilted slightly, watching her adoringly. "I'm sorry."

She frowned. "For what?"

"For having to deal with such awful little girls. I remember middle school and the kids in my grade were mean."

Michonne grinned at him. "Awww... you having flashbacks?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No... I'm just imagining what you looked like back then."

"Like an amorphous-"

Snorting, he tightened his grip on her leg, unconsciously pulling her closer to him. "Yeah, I know, an amorphous black blob."

She slapped his hand playfully, scooting in as well so she was practically in his lap. "I said mass, not blob," she chortled and he leaned forward so their faces were a hairsbreadth apart.

"Yeah... an intelligent, beautiful, amorphous, sexy, black mass," he murmured huskily, slowly reaching up and softly caressing her cheek. "One I wish I'd known before all of this."

"Rick," she gasped, her body growing hot suddenly. His eyes flickered down and rested hungrily on her lips, leaving her with very little doubt of what was about to transpire.

"Mom!"

"Fuck," Rick drew away from Michonne quickly as they both turned in time to witness Andre and Carl bounding through the front door, carrying a sleeping Judith.

"Quiet, Judith's asleep," Michonne pointed out.

"Oops, sorry," Andre apologized while Carl immediately took note of his parents' close proximity on the couch as well as the wine glasses they had finished.

"Have a good night?" He inquired with a smirk.

Michonne caught the pointed look and smiled. "Your father is a wonderful cook."

"Did you two have a date?" Andre demanded, not bothering with the subterfuge.

Rick snorted, tossing a pillow at them. "You two set the whole thing up," he retorted.

"Did it work?" Carl asked and Michonne smiled.

"Like I said, your father's a great cook," she whispered, catching the pillow when Andre threw it back. She caught Rick's eye and decided against saying anymore.

Both boys exchanged amused glances, nudging each other as Rick and Michonne readjusted on the couch, reluctantly untangling themselves.

"How was the movie?" Rick asked, hoping to divert the conversation away from them. Carl sensed the need and played along for now, knowing he would have an opportunity to grill his father later.

"Fine... are we still going to the Hilltop tomorrow?"

Michonne glanced over at Rick swiftly, smiling warmly. "Yeah..."

"So go and get ready for bed," Rick advised. "It's gonna be an early morning."

Carl snorted, readjusting Judith in his arms. "Fine. Goodnight mom. Night dad." He turned to head up the stairs, pushing Andre ahead of him.

"Goodnight," Rick responded, catching a hesitant look flash across Andre's face. "What's wrong?"

Michonne had noticed as well, but before she could get up, they watched Carl nudge him.

"Goodnight mom," Andre called. He paused for a moment before he glanced up at Carl for reassurance. When Carl nodded as he moved up the stairs, Andre squared his shoulders and turned back to Rick. "Goodnight dad!"

Not waiting for a response, Andre rushed up the stairs with a grinning Carl hot on his tails. Michonne stared at the spot where he once stood for a minute, frozen in place as she digested the words her son declared.

In spite of Carl and Judith's insistence of calling her mother, it had slowly become obvious that Andre had not made that shift. While she often thought about, she had been reluctant to bring it up with Andre. Rick was the first stable adult male relationship in Andre's life and Michonne wanted Andre to move at his own speed rather than prod the issue.

Beside her, she felt Rick become still as well and finally she glanced over at him, carefully gauging his reaction as he did the same to her. For a moment they stared at each other before a small smile appeared on his face as he leaned back on his elbow.

"Are you and I gonna have a problem?"

Releasing a ragged breath as her heart raced, Michonne reached out and took his hand, shaking her head. "No..." she smiled slightly. Their fingers interlaced and Michonne felt compelled to move, shifting around so that she was kneeling on the couch, placing a hand on his thigh to steady herself. She felt lightheaded all of a sudden and realized that all of the drinking they had done had hit her in a wave.

"You okay?" Rick chortled lightly and she snorted.

"I think I drank too much," she admitted, though she still leaned towards him, their noses almost touching.

They held that position for a moment with bated breath, clearly yearning to fill the distance and finally give in to the attraction between them. Their bodies were hot and skin tingling, yet to both of them it did not seem the right time. His skin was flush and her eyes glassy from the alcohol and after a minute, Michonne reluctantly drew away.

"I should go to bed," she mumbled apologetically, but he smiled understandingly.

"We have an early morning... we should get some rest," he added, as if knowing where the evening would have headed had they given in.

Catching his pointed look, she felt the blush rush across her dark cheeks and she looked down, her heart skipping a beat.

"Yeah..." Their fingers grazed briefly before Michonne carefully stood up, shooting Rick a thankful glance when he offered a steadying hand. "Goodnight."

He watched her move towards the hall, admiring the curves of her body as she swayed towards her room.

"What? No goodnight dad?" He shot back cheekily.

Michonne paused before she turned the corner, glancing at him with a strange look on her face. Biting her lip, she chuckled and shrugged, continuing along her way.

"Not yet," she called over her shoulder.

Rick's body quivered at her words and he took a deep breath, smiling to himself.

He knew exactly what he would be thinking about when he slept tonight.

* * *

By the time Andre and Judith were woken, Michonne, Rick, Carl, and Enid had already packed up the truck for the trip to the Hilltop. The two youngest were strapped in and after some last minute words with Sasha, Rosita, and Gabriel, Rick hopped in the driver's seat and sped off out the gate.

The first twenty minutes were quiet save for Judith's soft snoring. Carl and Enid had fallen back to sleep as well while Andre stared eagerly out the window, tracking their path on the map Rick had given him and counting the different walkers he saw. In front, Rick and Michonne were content in their silence, exchanging occasional glances and smiles as they thought of last night.

"Hey a herd!" Andre finally yelled from his seat, banging on the window to draw their attention to his side of the car. They all looked over to see a rather large group of walkers shuffling through a pasture, moving away from Alexandria.

"Pretty big one," Michonne commented, leaning back to get a better look. "Might be the herd Morgan and Carol say they saw on the way here from the Kingdom."

"It's not heading to Alexandria though, so let's leave it be for now," Rick replied, checking the rear view mirror as they drove by. "I'll talk to Maggie about it when we reach the Hilltop."

"Sounds good."

Rick glanced over at her and saw the strange look on her face as she continued to watch the herd until it was out of sight.

"What is it?"

She caught his look and shrugged. "Nothing... they just reminded me of something," she replied quietly so that the kids could not hear her.

"What's that?"

Michonne was quiet for a moment, peeking over her shoulder at Andre, who was staring intently at his map, before she turned to Rick.

"I was just remembering when Andre and I were heading up here from Fargo..." Rick frowned, his ears perked. Apart from Andre's therapy, Michonne rarely spoke about Fargo or Ellory unprompted. "We'd run across these small herds. Depending on how big they were we'd take care of it or we'd hide and wait."

"It's never an easy choice," Rick murmured, thinking back to the split second decision to leave Sophia alone and draw the walkers away five years back.

"No it's not." Sensing a dark cloud moving over him, she reached out and gently covered his hand with hers. "Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

He took her hand and held it securely to the gearshift. "You didn't..." He offered a faint, yet assuring smile. "Five years into this, anything anyone says is bound to trigger a difficult memory with a walker."

"You make this life sound so depressing."

"Isn't it?"

Michonne turned so that she was facing him fully, allowing her to gaze back at the kids. Carl and Enid held hands as they slept, leaning against each other. Judith and Andre were behind them, both barely visible above the seats.

"That's not depressing," she whispered. "That's hope. That's the future." She smiled at the sight and nudged him to take a quick peek. "And Rick, from where I'm sitting, the future doesn't look too bad."

Michonne could have sworn she saw a flicker of love flash across Rick's eyes when he glanced over at her, but he returned to the road so quickly that she could not be sure. Not that she needed that. Her heart leapt when he raised her hand to his lips, holding her there for a couple of seconds as he breathed deeply.

"Michonne," he mumbled in a husky voice that made her shiver beside him.

"Yeah."

"You're right."

Their eyes met briefly and Michonne could not help but lean over and press a kiss to his cheek, enjoying the way his beard tickled her skin. When she pulled away, she turned to see that all the other occupants were now fully awake and watching them with varying expressions on their faces. Andre and Enid looked excited. Carl smug. Judith was the only one grossed out simply by the intimacy.

They all stared at each other for a minute before Michonne shifted and sat up straighter, shooting Rick a cheeky wink.

"Problem?" She challenged the kids.

"No," Carl answered immediately.

Andre raised his hand. "I have a question."

Carl reached behind him and grabbed at Andre's arm. "No you don't."

"Ow! Mom! Carl pinched me! Mom!"

"No I didn't."

"Yes he did, I saw!" Judith declared, clamoring to defend her brother.

Michonne and Rick exchanged amused glances before Michonne began mediating.

The car ride proceeded like that for a good ten minutes until a punctured tire threw the car into momentary disarray.

"Fuck!"

Judith screamed as the tire burst and the truck dovetailed, swerving along asphalt as Rick struggled to keep the vehicle from crashing.

"Hold on!" Rick ordered as they swerved off of the road and came to a halt in a ditch a couple hundred meters down the road.

"Andre! Judith!" Michonne shouted, scrambling to unbuckle herself as Rick surveyed the surrounding area, knowing the noise would have drawn walkers.

"They're fine," Enid called, helping Judith over the seat while Carl helped Andre.

"Enid, you're bleeding," Michonne gasped. "Carl, there are some bandages in your dad's backpack. Andre, watch Judith. Stay in the car." Grabbing her katana and pulling out her gun, she followed Rick as he exited the vehicle.

"Shit," Rick grumbled, examining the blown tire while she checked the perimeter, dispatching a couple of early arrivals who staggered out of the woods towards the truck.

When she approached Rick, she saw the worried look on his face and that concerned her. "Is it bad?"

He shook his head. "No, it's just gonna take a little while to fix." For a moment it looked like he wanted to shoot the car. "Shit!"

She understood his anxiety. With Judith in the car, it would not do to remain in one spot out in the open for very long.

"Let's get it fixed." He watched her move back to the car, opening the rear door. "Enid, are you okay?"

"I'll live," she answered, touching her temple gingerly and giving Carl a kiss on the cheek. "Can we help?"

Michonne nodded. "Yeah. Get your guns and set up a perimeter. Andre, baby, I need you to take Judith and find a good tree, okay. With a good vantage point. Take your pack," she added as he began helping Judith out of the car. Michonne removed the katana from her back and rested it on the seat, coming back to where Rick was crouched. "I'll help you with the tire." She caught him staring up at her in amazement and she frowned. "What?"

He smiled. "I'm glad we did this."

"With the blown tire, amassing walkers, and an injured teen?"

Rick snorted and got up, going to the trunk to pull out the necessary tools and spare tire. "No... but I'm glad we did this." When she came to help him with the tire he halted, looking her directly in the eyes. "Michonne," he whispered. "I'm glad you're here."

She smiled back at him. "Me too."

They spent the next few minutes quietly removing the flat tire and working to get the new one on. Carl and Enid would filter in and out of sight, moving along the tree line on both sides of the road, while Andre would whistle every couple of minutes from his and Judith's spot in a large nearby tree.

"One time we got trapped by a herd," Michonne was telling him as they finished up with the tire. "Spent almost three days up a tree."

"How'd you work that out?"

Michonne shrugged. "I'd pretend to take shifts with Andre. I'd hold him while he slept, made sure he didn't fall or make noise to draw them. They were following this storm, so we got lucky."

Rick rolled the flat into the ditch and looked up at her. "Pretend for the shifts?"

"Andre insisted on keeping guard while I slept... I didn't sleep for three days," she admitted quietly. "I was too afraid I'd fall and drag him with me." Her face changed. "It was right after Ellory and Fargo. He used to cry in his sleep. Get awful nightmares. I thought we'd die in that tree."

"But you didn't."

Smiling, Michonne whistled to alert the kids that they needed to come back. "No. And now we're here. And Andre doesn't have nightmares anymore. He has hope."

Rick nodded, glancing down the road to where Carl was heading back. "And a future..." When she gave him a questioning look he motioned to her. "You were right, earlier. It won't be the same for them as it was for us, growing up, but these communities that we're still building... there's always been hope. Even when I didn't see it. Carl, Andre, Judith..." he paused, looking her straight in the eyes. "I want our kids to have that. I want them to have the future."

The swift arrival of Andre and a yammering Judith prevented Michonne from responding in the way she wanted. As Carl and Enid got the younger two situated in the back, Michonne offered him an adoring smile.

"I want that too," she whispered. "For them... and for us."

Rick fought the urge to kiss her in that instant, but it was clear that the action would not have been unwelcome. However, the presence of the kids proved a deterrent for at first step as Carl banged on the door.

"We got walkers coming, let's go!"

It was obvious that the conversation would have to be continued at another point. They both nodded reassuringly to each other and headed back to the car. As they got back on the road, Rick reached out and gently took Michonne's hand, much to the silent excitement of Carl and Enid. In the back, Andre and Judith began a loud game of 'I Spy'.

They reached the Hilltop in time for the guard shift. As they walked through the gate, Glenn was just getting down from the wall and greeted them all warmly.

"I was beginning to think Rick made you two up," Glenn joked.

"Is he prone to that?" Michonne quipped and Glenn grinned.

"I think he said he used to be a sheriff once."

Michonne laughed, instantly at ease as Glenn pulled Enid into a hug.

"Are you okay?" he asked, seeing the bandage on her forehead.

"Just a cut. We popped a tire and ran off the road. I'm fine," she insisted. "Where's Maggie?"

"Bed rest," Glenn answered. "I'm glad you're back. We missed you. She's getting close. Hey Carl, how are you? How's the arm?"

Carl rubbed his shoulder and shrugged lightly. "Still hurts sometimes, but I'm healing."

Glenn nodded, turning back to Michonne and Andre. "Rick told us what you did for him…" Michonne was surprised to see the man tear up, but she reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder, offering a smile. Glenn smiled back and took a deep breath. "Right… so, um… Good… this is good…"

"Enid!"

They all looked up to see Maggie standing at the door of her trailer, waving excitedly at them. "CARL!"

"She's gonna kill me," Glenn muttered to himself before he started up the hill. "Maggie! Bed rest!"

"Hershel's hungry, I'm hungry, and I heard the gate open," Maggie retorted. "Hey Rick! Oh, is that Michonne and Andre! Come up! It's so good to finally meet you!"

"Come on," Glenn encouraged, happily taking Judith from her father as they made their way to the Rhee trailer. "Let's go before she tries to come down to us."

"Wow!" Andre ran ahead, pointing to Barrington House. "Mom, look! Just like in the history books!"

"Well, it's a very old house… been here for over a hundred years."

"Really?! Are we going inside?"

"Andre, later," Michonne promised, motioning around them. "We'll take a tour later, okay?"

"Okay."

As they headed up the hill, Michonne caught sight of a few other people coming out of other trailers, including a blonde woman and a teenage boy that seemed to arrest the attention of Rick and Carl. Both pairs paused, stopped by some invisible force that instantly darkened Rick's face while Carl unconsciously reached for his shoulder.

"Rick!"

Michonne looked to see Maggie watching the whole curious exchange as well with an equally unsettled look on her face. The pregnant woman shook her head at Alexandria's leader and the man's face twitched before he continued towards the Rhee trailer. Michonne placed a hand on Carl's good shoulder, breaking him out of his glaring contest with the other young man.

"Come on," she whispered, gently guiding him in the proper direction. "You okay?"

He did not bother with pretending, instead shaking his head. "No… that's Ron… the one who shot me."

Michonne nearly turned around herself, but Carl grabbed her arm, pulling her along.

"Don't, he's not worth it," he begged. "Besides, his mom's right there."

"You think that'd stop me?" she demanded incredulously. "Carl, that boy-"

"Mom, please," Carl snapped, causing her to stop and take a deep, calming breath to slow her raging pulse. "They're not worth it…"

The look on his face and Rick's strange mood suggested more of a history to Michonne than she knew she was likely to get any time soon. It was not hard to guess the type of history, but she refrained from speculating at the moment. Carl looked upset enough, so she would put it aside. For now.

"Let's go."

The rest of the day was spent with Michonne and Andre growing closer to the Rhee family as they toured the Hilltop, met other members and explored Barrington House. They conspicuously did not run into the same two people from earlier that day. The highlight was the library reveal, in which Andre squealed and proceeded to start hastily pulling books off of the wall before Michonne could stop him. Glenn, fond of Andre immediately and amused that his son Hershel had, like Judith, taken to mimicking the young boy, encouraged him to stay in the library and read as much as he wanted. While Rick and Glenn caught up in the house, Michonne and Maggie commiserated with Enid in the trailer over herbal tea and misshapen cookies until late in the evening. Much like their first day at Alexandria, the day passed quickly and left them all exhausted.

Glenn helped them get settled in couple of rooms in Barrington House, smiling as the blended family navigated the arrangements.

"The three of you will be in here," Michonne instructed as she helped Judith get changed. "Carl, do you mind taking the couch? Andre and Judith can share the bed."

"Okay… I'll be back in a bit," Carl said, leaving with his father.

As Michonne got Judith into her pajamas, Andre sat on the side of the bed, swinging his feet and staring at the paintings on the walls.

"It's kinda like Buckingham Palace."

She snorted. "Not exactly."

"It's old… someone famous used to live here. I'm sure they were probably British."

Michonne paused and smiled. "You're probably right, Andre… Never thought about it that way."

Andre continued to swing his legs, his mind wandering to his mother and Rick and their interactions since yesterday.

"Are you and Rick together?" he asked quietly, catching Michonne off guard.

She stared at him for a moment before she returned to Judith, straightening the little girl's shirt. "No… and what happened to calling him dad?"

"You're okay with that?"

She frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?" When he did not immediately respond she tilted her head to catch his eyes. "You never expressed a problem with Carl and Judith calling me mom."

"'Cause you are their mom."

"And you don't think Rick's your dad?"

"I do," he mumbled, his cheeks growing red.

"Then what's wrong?"

Andre shrugged. "Father Gabriel says that everyone in this life deserves happiness and love… I just want to make sure you have both."

Tears filled Michonne's eyes as she witnessed the sincerity in her child's face. Andre had always been wiser than his age, but it still caught her off guard at times. Smiling, she reached out and pulled him into a tight hug.

"I am happy, baby," she whispered. "And I have love… I have you, and Judith, and Carl…"

"What about Rick?" His face twitched and he started again, wiping the tears on her cheeks. "What about dad?"

Michonne thought back to the morning before. To her how she had stopped herself from going so far in acknowledging her feelings for Rick Grimes. To how they had embraced the absurd manipulation of their children to open themselves up to the idea of a romantic connection. To Rick's words and her talk of the future on the side of the road. In everything but the explicit words she had been honest about what was developing. There was no use in denying it to her son.

"I have him too," she murmured. "I love him too."

Andre beamed and nodded, pleased with this outcome. If his books were to be believed, which they were, then his parents would love each other just as they loved him, Carl, and Judith. He was happy that that was the case.

"Good," he said, hopping off of the bed and running towards the door.

"Hold up, where the hell are you going?"

"To tell dad."

Michonne rolled her eyes and stood up, rushing over to snatch his arm before he made it out the door. "Andre, I have told you about gossiping."

"It's not gossip, it's true!"

"Yes, but I don't want you running off to tell Rick."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not ready to tell him."

"Why not?"

Michonne sighed and threw her arms up in the air. "Because grown up stuff, baby… I just… I don't want _you_ telling him."

"Then you go," he insisted, coming around to push her from behind to the door. "Go tell him now."

"Andre, stop it."

"Stop what?"

They looked up to see Rick and Carl standing at the door, looking confused by what they were seeing. Andre's eyes lit up and he bounded over to Rick.

"Dad, Mom-"

"Is gonna tell everyone in Hilltop what you did that time you were five and got a hold of some make up," she shot back, effectively silencing him. Straightening up, she smiled victoriously and motioned to the bed where Judith was already asleep. "Now go to bed. And no more snitching."

Carl chuckled as he moved past her to steer Andre towards the bed. The sullen child got in and Michonne left with Rick.

"What'd he do? Put the make up on or something?"

She snorted. "I wish." Looking over at him, her heart skipped a beat at the intense blue eyes that were staring back at her. "He… he had just discovered what really made girls and boys different and felt intent on marking every spot on his body with lipstick that was not the same as a girl's." Rick laughed and she hit his arm, trying not to do the same. "Don't laugh, he's sensitive about it…"

"I'm sure…" They stopped in front of another room and turned to face each other.

"Good night Rick."

"Good night Michonne… see you in the future," he added and she smiled, stealing his breath away as she went inside.

* * *

Michonne had just emerged from Barrington House when the sun was peeking between the lumber walls around Hilltop. Taking up a seat on the steps, she observed the guards changing posts and the slow emergence of others as the day began. The end of the world had taken away the hectic rush hour that she remembered from Atlanta, but it still amused her how habit and a need for purpose compelled many to continue with the routine.

The inventories were checked, cows milked. Last shifts' guards passed by, nodding tiredly as they went into the house to report. Glenn emerged from their trailer, followed closely by Enid, who held Hershel Jr as they walked up to the House as well.

"Morning," Glenn greeted while Enid waved and continued inside.

"Hey. How's Maggie?"

Glenn snorted. "She hates bedrest. Couldn't sleep last night and insisted on helping around the trailer."

Michonne grinned. "I was the same when I was pregnant with Andre."

Nodding, Glenn motioned behind her. "We're going to get breakfast. Did you want to join?"

Michonne nodded. "I'll be in soon. Thank you." She motioned to the slope and the rising sun. "I just wanted to enjoy the view."

Glenn nodded in understanding and went into the house, leaving her to her thoughts.

There was a different atmosphere at the Hilltop that she admittedly envied. The historic building and smaller community provided an opportunity to simply enjoy nature without the obstruction of metal walls and modern homes. The trees rustled in seeming agreement and she smiled to herself.

If this had been her and Andre's first dip into Rick's world, she probably would have opted to stay here. As it were, she was happy where she was at Alexandria, but she knew this would not be the last trip she made to the Hilltop.

"Watch your step."

Michonne glanced over her shoulder and snorted back laughter when she saw Andre carefully leading Judith by the hand outside onto the porch. Both were still in their pajamas, but had their boots on. All they needed was snow and it would have taken Michonne back to early Christmases before the turn.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to see the animals," Judith explained, coming over to give Michonne a hug and kiss. "Morning mommy."

"Good Morning, baby," replied Michonne, adjusting the little girl's sweater. "Andre, did you wake her up and drag her out of-"

Andre immediately objected, "Judith woke me up!"

"She did?" Michonne turned to the girl. "You pulled him out of bed this early?"

"The eggs are still there," Judith said before making her way down the stairs, tugging Andre along, as if that were enough explanation. She watched them get a little ways away, saw Judith stumble a bit and then sighed, getting up to ensure the two did not hurt themselves on the way to the coup.

"Andre, slow down, the terrain is uneven."

She greeted a couple of people amiably while she trailed the two around the house, admiring the craftsmanship of the barn structure.

"Good morning," a greying Chinese woman welcomed them into the coup, smiling knowingly at Judith. "Hi, honey!"

"Hi Constance! Andre, look," Judith pointed to the chicken Constance was holding. "Eggs!"

Michonne crouched down next to the woman as Judith and Andre crowded around the clucking birds.

"I'm Constance."

"Michonne." Pointing to Andre, she smiled. "That's Andre."

"Hello Andre," Constance grinned. "I see Judith roped you in to her little secret."

Michonne frowned. "Secret?"

Constance took the egg from the nest and set the bird down, standing up to allow the children better access to the chickens.

"As soon as she learned how to open doors, Judith has been sneaking out of Barrington House early every morning they come up here. She comes down to watch me gather eggs."

"Rick doesn't know?"

Constance shrugged sympathetically, watching Michonne carefully as she pulled Judith away from a particularly aggressive chicken absentmindedly while the girl and Andre excitedly began to help search for eggs.

"Rick's like Maggie. He works hard and sometimes, even the best of parents will miss things if they work themselves ragged to protect their children." She smiled. "It looks like Rick's found his Glenn."

Michonne looked up in surprise but said nothing. The knowing look on the woman's face was enough for her to glean the meaning of her words. She warmed at the idea that others had recognized and accepted her and Rick's growing closeness and despite past pursuits, she was not anxious about it. In fact, it made her heart beat faster.

"Judith!"

The two women were drawn to Andre's objections to see Judith giggling at a cracked egg that had landed on his head.

"Mom!" Andre complained, half upset that he had ruined an egg, half upset that his hair was now messed up by the yolk seeping through his locs.

"It's fine," Constance insisted while Michonne helped clean up the shells. "Judith has dropped several eggs in here before."

Having relaxed slightly at this, Michonne enjoyed the rest of her time in the chicken coup with Constance and the children. When they finally gathered all of the eggs, Michonne guided them up the hill, carrying a small basket of eggs that Constance asked her to take to the House while she distributed the rest to the housing trailers.

"Andre, go clean up before breakfast," Michonne insisted, breaking up a little argument he and Judith were having. "Glenn and Enid are in the kitchen."

"Fine," Andre grumbled, still messing with his locs.

"I'll help you retwist them later. Just wash your hair."

She watched him make his way into the house while Judith pulled on the basket she was holding to look at the eggs.

"They're not babies," Judith informed her. "Constance says they're not babies yet."

Michonne smiled. "No, they're not." Sitting down, she propped the little girl on her lap and picked up one of the warm eggs, cradling it in her and Judith's hands. "This will feed us today. We take care of the chickens and they take care of us."

"Circle of life?"

Michonne leaned to the side to catch Judith's eyes. "Who told you about that?"

"Carl," she muttered, fiddling with Michonne's long fingers. "He told me about it."

"He told you about the Lion King?"

Judith looked confused. "What's Lion King?"

Michonne snorted, amused at the idea that Carl had attempted to pass such a ubiquitous term as his own.

"That's where the Circle of Life comes from..." she was about to explain the story of Hamlet in relation to African lions, but a blonde woman quickly approaching stopped her. It was the same one Carl had pointed out as Ron's mother yesterday, staring furtively at Rick when they first arrived at the Hilltop. She had caught the looks between the blonde and Rick, recognizing that something had been shared between them. Probably not as dangerous or traumatizing as Ellory, considering her close proximity, but nevertheless there was something there that still seemed to shake Rick. If it did not sit well with him, it did not sit well with her.

"Hi!" The blonde waved, her tone overly friendly. It reminded Michonne of Fargo.

"Good Morning," Michonne responded carefully. It would do her no good to immediately antagonize a Hilltop citizen, especially after she had had such a wonderful time with Constance. "I'm Michonne. We weren't introduced yesterday."

"Jesse Anderson." She stuck a hand out pointedly and at such a distance that Michonne was forced to either be rude or stand to meet it.

"Nice to meet you." Michonne took her hand firmly, noting the way Jesse examined her as she set Judith down gently. It was immediately clear to her that the blonde considered her a threat. For what reason, Michonne preferred not to hypothesize before getting the facts, but it was not hard to note the jealousy. Growing up, Michonne had become an expert on recognizing that impulse, specifically in insecure white women.

"Same," Michonne managed, pulling her hand away to snag Judith by the collar before she could waddle off towards the Rhee trailer. "Are you a longtime resident of the Hilltop?"

Jesse's eyes flickered anxiously towards Judith, who was not bothered by Michonne's interruption, though still leaning towards moving away from the two women.

"I've only been here for a few of months... I used to be at Alexandria."

Suddenly Michonne put two and two together. Tobin's casual explanation for the abandoned home Carol and Morgan inhabited returned to her. She could not help but wonder what exactly had turned this woman away from such a gorgeous abode.

"Hilltop is such a beautiful place, I understand the reason to move here," she attempted, hooking her finger in the back of Judith's shirt and gently pulling her back before she could wander off.

Jesse's eyes darkened a bit, but instead of responding to that statement directly, she changed the subject to something that had clearly been bothering her since her approach.

"You're at Alexandria now?"

"Yeah."

"How did you come to be there?"

Michonne shifted. "My son and I were the ones who found Carl after he'd been shot."

Jesse blanched. "Ah yes... my son was..." Jesse stopped herself from saying more on that. Instead, she once again changed directions. "So you came back with Rick and Rosita?"

"Yes."

"And his father?" There was a hopefulness in the woman's voice that betrayed her true reason for accosting Michonne in the first place.

"His father..." Michonne paused for a moment, thinking back to the night on the couch and Andre's words. It warmed her and she motioned behind her. "His father's in the house."

Jesse, missing the intention behind Michonne's words, just released a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Oh great! I'd love to meet him. So are you all staying here or living with another family in Alexandria?"

Michonne's lip twitched and her pulse quickened. "We're actually living with Rick," she corrected resolutely, yanking Judith back once more. Pulling out her small knife, she carefully handed it to the child. "Judith, go take this and practice your stabs at the wall. Find a log and when I get over there I want ten notches in the same two inch circle." Ignoring Jesse, she crouched down and held up two fingers. "Two inches, okay? Make sure you keep the point in there. Got it?"

"Okay," Judith mumbled, lowering the weapon to her side as Michonne had taught her before heading over to the closest section of the wall.

Jesse, however, had seen and heard enough. "Um, Judith, I don't think so," Jesse snapped, speedily intercepting the little girl before it registered with Michonne what she was doing.

"I'm sorry?"

"You cannot possibly expect me to allow you to just give this child a knife," Jesse hissed, snatching the knife out of her hand and completely missing the instant shift in Michonne's body. "I guess you don't do much helping with the kids. Rick gets so busy sometimes, but perhaps if you just left her with me until he wakes up."

Michonne's instinct was to inform this woman of her place and then put her there, but she swallowed that dangerous impulse. Her fingers curled around the strap of her katana, eyes narrow as she watched Judith run back to her, protesting the removal of her knife.

"Mommy, my knife!" Judith cried loudly and Jesse's entire body twitched, jaw slack, as she stared at the two in horror.

"Mommy," she managed to gasp before the telltale click of well worn boots alerted them to a certain man's arrival.

Looking over her shoulder, Michonne nearly lost her own breath at the sight of Rick, freshly washed in a simple denim shirt and black jeans, his hair slicked back and piercing blue eyes focused intently on what was unfolding on the steps.

"Hi Jesse."

His voice was strained, as if he were holding back what looked to be anger.

"Hi Rick," Jesse replied silkily, a noticeable shift from the harried tone of surprise just a moment earlier. "It's good to see you again."

Moving away from the door, Rick glanced quickly over at Michonne. "I thought it would be good to introduce Michonne to the Hilltop. Being somewhat new to the communities."

Willful ignorance was really the only explanation for the blonde's next statement as she held up the confiscated knife.

"Yes! I was just telling her how we do things a bit differently here." When Rick did not immediately respond, Jesse grew emboldened, turning her sights on Michonne. "I think it's inappropriate to give a baby a knife like that without even consulting her father. It may be okay for your child to run around unchecked with a weapon, but Rick's daughter-"

"My daughter."

There was a brief silence as Michonne scooped Judith up into her arms and plucked the knife out of Jesse's limp hand. Rick watched as she hugged the child tightly to her, glaring at Jesse as if he were not even there.

"Judith is my daughter and as such I will decide what is appropriate, especially when it comes to her safety. Being ill prepared to protect yourself from walkers is what would be inappropriate in this world. Perhaps if you spent less time worrying about the education of other people's kids and more time giving your own proper weapons training, Carl wouldn't have been shot in the first place."

Rick's face went blank momentarily, and Michonne squared her shoulders, readying herself to provide Jesse with more current events update. Not that she needed to.

"Mom."

Carl appeared at the door, clearly unaware of what he had just walked into.

"Hey, Glenn's making breakfast," he announced eagerly, catching sight of Jesse and the awkwardness that permeated the porch. Determined to put an end to whatever this was, Carl moved quickly over to where Michonne stood, gently taking Judith from her and giving her a firm peck on the cheek. "Morning. Are you coming?"

Unable to help the smile that graced her lips, Michonne nodded and motioned to the door. "Let's eat..." she paused and glanced over at Jesse, who looked to seconds from having a stroke. "Nice to meet you Jesse." She ran her fingers along Rick's bicep as she brushed past him, following her son into the House.

For a moment Jesse was rendered speechless by Michonne's biting words and the blatant display of affection towards her by the Grimes family. Carl and Judith had never embraced her in such a way, even when she and their father had been involved.

"Umm..." she fixed her eyes on Rick. "So... she's your-"

"Jesse, I think it's best if you don't come around here anymore," Rick growled willfully, heartened by Michonne's words and actions.

"Rick, I live here," she pointed out tersely, annoyed that he was immediately taking sides with a woman he obviously had not known for some time and had shown a clear lack of respect for her and Rick. "Besides, you and I-"

"I killed your husband, Jesse," Rick snapped abruptly, fixing her with a dark resolve that frightened her. "Your son and my son hate each other, and you and I..." He paused, careful with how he described what had transpired between them. It had been animalistic, admittedly on his part. After two and a half years separated from love, from someone seemingly untouched by this world, from someone nurturing, from someone that reminded him of the time before the turn, and having denied himself any real physical release... Jesse Anderson was an opportunity to address that, though in hindsight it was a poorly planned and executed carnal desire. One that ended with her fleeing Alexandria.

Now he stood before her and for the first time the guilt was gone. Rick felt no obligation or incentive to appease her pouting lips or limp blonde features. His mind, as it had been since they had left the school down south, was preoccupied by one thing. One person.

"Rick," Jesse cooed, noting his apprehension and easing closer to him. "Look, I know what happened between Ron and Carl was rough, but we can move past that... Rick...

"Dad!"

Andre came bounding out the door, eagerly taking Rick's arm while inclining his head towards the house. "Let's eat!"

Rick grinned. "Sounds good."

Andre glanced over at Jesse, who definitely looked ready to have a stroke. "Are you Jesse?"

The woman frowned. "Yes."

Andre beamed up at her, ignorant of the tense air between her and Rick.

"Nice to meet you. Mom says you have two boys who need help with weapons training. I wanted to offer my help. I've been training Judith," he explained proudly, much to Jesse's chagrin and Rick's delight. "I'm good with guns and knives."

Rick ruffled his wet locs and ushered him towards the house. "I'm sure she'll think about it. Come in, let's eat."

"Okay," Andre waved at Jesse. "Bye ma'am!"

It would have been impossible for Rick to describe the pride he felt for Andre as he glanced back one last time to see the devastated look on Jesse's face. He knew the combined force of seeing his family had crushed the hope he always saw in her. Michonne's words alone along with her maternal instincts towards Judith made his heart swell and he felt as if he would never stop smiling.

When they entered the kitchen, Michonne was standing at the counter with Glenn, helping to cut up fruit while last night's guard were busy making oatmeal and chatting with Carl and Enid. Judith sat on the counter next to Michonne and was helping her with the fruit. She seemed to have already moved on from the incident outside, trading jokes with Glenn as she would occasionally reach out and tug on Judith's leg playfully.

It was such a beautiful scene that drew Rick over. Without thinking he wrapped an arm around her waist, resting his hand lightly on her hip as he came to stand in front of Judith while Andre hurried over to join Carl. Michonne's body reacted positively to the touch, leaning into him as she glanced quickly up at him.

"You okay?" She asked simply.

"Yeah," he replied and she smiled.

"Good." Without missing a beat, she pushed a piece of apple into his mouth, made sure he caught it, and then placed the rest of the fruit in a bowl. "I'm gonna go check on Maggie," she announced, giving Rick's hand on her a quick squeeze before she left.

Glenn saw the loving way Rick observed Michonne and felt elated at the prospect of his friend finally finding someone who made him as happy as Maggie made him.

"Rick."

"Hmm?"

Catching his eyes, Glenn smiled. "I'm happy for you man."

Rick's heart skipped a beat and he looked down at Judith, who was methodically cutting up apples, just like Michonne had taught her. Just like her mother had taught her...

"I'm happy, Glenn," he whispered. "I'm really happy."

 **A/N: I hope you liked it. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: So this chapter is really important to me. Not only is it being released the day of 7x12 (Happy Watching Y'all!), but I have actually been working on a huge portion of this chapter since Sept. 2016. Siancore and I had a conversation a couple months ago about how we often skip ahead when writing and I've been working on this since then, expanding, tweaking, etc. I'm hoping it all came together since I have a feeling I won't be releasing any more chapters for a little while (this isn't the last chapter, BTW, I just don't think I'm going to write for a little while after the 7x12 episode).**

 **Y'all are also going to get a better idea of the Jesse situation (not everyone's going to like it) but I wanted to clear things up about that. There's some payoff after the explanation, so please power through!**

 **I really hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was later in the day when Rick finally found Michonne again. She was coming down from the gate and moving slowly along the wall, readjusting her katana. As he hurried to catch up with her, he took note of the pensive look on her face. He often wondered what she thought when he found her alone, eyes constantly alert in such a violent world.

"Hey," he called, sidling up beside her and falling into step with her quiet gait. She visibly relaxed at his presence.

"Hey."

"Maggie said you were out here."

She glanced over at him, catching his eyes with a smile. "Did you need me?"

"No..." He returned the smile. "I just wanted to spend time with you."

Michonne's heart leapt in her chest but she managed to keep her face straight as they continued their walk. "You didn't get enough of me last night."

"Not nearly enough."

Her laughter stole Rick's breath as a deep blush crept across her gorgeous dark skin. He hoped he could spend the rest of his life making her feel so good. Watching her, how her eyes shone in the afternoon sun, her skin glowed, her voice uplifted him, he knew what he was experiencing. He knew then that he was falling in love and he wished he could breathe.

"Well..." Their eyes met once again and Michonne thought of her conversation with Andre the night before, leaving her to wonder how she would tell the man before her how she truly felt. "Spending time together sounds nice."

Rick snorted. "Don't sound so enthusiastic."

She was about to respond when she caught sight of Carl leaving Barrington House with Enid. She watched them for a moment, noticing them hesitate down their path when they encountered Ron Anderson, who was heading towards the House. Rick and Michonne watched the interaction silently, observing the obvious tension between the three teenagers. For a few moments the three spoke in hushed tones before Enid seemed to have enough and shoved Ron away, pointing for him to leave. It escalated quickly, prompting Rick and Michonne to charge in, breaking the three teenagers apart.

"ENOUGH!" Rick bellowed, dragging Carl away while Michonne shoved between Enid and Ron.

"Don't," Michonne growled, shaking her head at Enid in warning.

"What the hell is going on?" Rick demanded and Ron immediately pointed at Carl.

"Carl's accusing me of something I didn't do!"

Enid's eyes narrowed. "Ron, you piece of shit, you shot him!"

"NOT ON PURPOSE! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" Ron snarled before pointing straight at Rick. "Unlike what you did!"

Michonne saw Rick's face twitch and something dark shadowed his eyes as they fell upon the teenager. The man took a step forward but she moved in front of him, pressing a hand to his chest as she shot him a quick pleading look. She felt him relax slightly at her touch and his eyes softened, but it was clear that this situation needed a swift de-escalation. Turning to face Ron, she pointed behind him.

"You should go."

Ron, despite his previous cowing before Rick upon their return from the Southern run, still seemed to be clinging to a previous animosity that caused him to retort impetuously. "Why? Why should I have to go when I live here?!"

"Because you're acting like an asshole!" Enid shot back, much to Michonne's chagrin. "You shot Carl and you've got some fucking nerve coming up to us acting like we did something wrong!'

"You did do something wrong!" Ron once again pointed passed Michonne at Rick, earning him a glare from both adults. "You killed my dad and then fucked my mom!"

"RON!"

They all turned to see Jesse being led over to them by a Hilltop member who had seen the fight begin.

"What the hell is going on?"

Rick moved around Michonne, shooting her a quick look of assurance as he approached Jesse. "You need to take Ron out of here now."

Jesse frowned, glancing over at Michonne ruefully. "Rick, perhaps we should-"

Rick's face twitched again and he moved to the side to block her view of Michonne. "Jesse, he needs to leave, now…"

An audience was forming and at the entrance of Barrington House, Glenn was watching with concern and irritation. This confrontation was over and Jesse seemed to realize that.

"Ron… let's go…"

"Mom-"

"Ron, please!"

"Seriously?" Ron glared at his mother. "Mom-"

"Fuck off, Ron!" Carl growled, prompting both Rick and Michonne to round on him.

"Enough!" they snapped in unison. Michonne broke away from Rick and pushed Carl and Enid back towards Barrington house while Rick stood his ground to block any further contact between the teenagers.

"Jesse, please-"

"Don't you fucking talk to my mom-"

"Ron, go back to our trailer, now!" Jesse snapped pleadingly. She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back, turning him down the hill. "Go!"

There was a moment of hesitation as the two small groups sized each other up. Jesse's eyes once again fell upon Michonne, who was holding Carl close and watching the scenario unfold with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Ron, please, let's go."

They watched as the two slowly left before Carl visibly relaxed.

"Hey, thanks-"

"What the hell is your problem?" Michonne demanded, surprising even Rick with how upset she suddenly looked as she rounded on the two teens angrily.

"Mom?"

"Why are the two of you engaging with him?"

Enid stood up straighter. "Ron was the one-"

Michonne glowered at both of them. "You should have finished it and walked away, period," she hissed.

"He shot me," Carl objected and Michonne's eyes narrowed.

"You should have walked away," she retorted while Rick moved to stand beside her, watching as she continued with her scolding. "It doesn't matter about him."

Carl looked offended. "Mom-"

"Are you going to kill him?"

They fell silent, stunned by Michonne's demand. She looked more incensed by Carl and Enid's reactions to the situation rather than Ron Anderson. In fact, she had stopped thinking about Ron almost as soon as she and Rick had interrupted the fight.

"What?"

Michonne motioned behind her. "Are you going to kill that boy?"

The frankness of the question forced embarassment upon Carl and he looked down.

"No…"

"Then for the short term, you need to avoid him, ignore him, or learn to deal with him," Michonne snapped and Enid shifted uneasily.

"But he-"

"I don't give a shit what he does or what he says." Michonne's eyes filled with tears. "He's angry and he's not going to make good decisions and there's nothing you can do about that, but you two… anger only makes you stupid and stupid gets you killed in this world… I will not see that happen, so the two of you need to make a difficult decision, because unless he is dead, you are going to have to deal with him in some capacity."

Carl and Enid looked thoroughly chastised and Rick took the opportunity to speak up.

"Go back in the house," he advised quietly. "We'll talk about this later."

Michonne motioned towards Barrington House quietly, catching Carl's gaze and offering him a stern, yet comforting gaze. "Go…"

Enid and Carl exchanged glances before they silently acquiesced to Michonne and left. Standing on the slope, aware that they were still being watched by lingering Hilltop members, Rick and Michonne finally turned to each other.

"Thank you," Rick offered sincerely, stepping closer to her.

"For what?"

He could tell something was bothering her and he tilted his head to the side to catch her eyes. "With Carl, just now."

"And what about Ron and Jesse, just now?" she responded testily, more visibly wound up about what had taken place than she had initially let on. Whatever had occurred between Jesse and Rick in the past seemed resolved on Rick's part, but clearly his actions had left an impact on more than just the widow. "That boy looked ready to kill you."

As beautiful as her eyes were, there was a firmness that clearly told him that this was not going to be an easy conversation to worm out of with vagaries. They had discussed Lori several times, and while Carl's shooter had been discussed a couple of times, Rick and Carl had been curiously tight lipped about it. Their residence at Hilltop shed some light on the reluctance to discuss the issue. Unfortunately for most, in this new world, these unpleasant and difficult situations typically worked themselves out through death. Michonne had seen the look in Ron's eyes and worried it still could.

For a few moments he was quiet, gathering his thoughts as Michonne observed him out of the corner of her eye. "I killed her husband."

Michonne did not seem fazed by this admission. Instead, she nodded pensively, waiting for him to continue. There was a glint in her eyes that left him weak.

"He was abusing her and the kids... took me a while to figure it out. Much longer than I care to admit..." He thought back to those early days in Alexandria and the darkness that had blinded him to a lot of things. Of how much he had lost himself after Lori's death and what he was just now gaining back. "Things spiraled out of control and I killed him."

"Rick, the boy isn't just angry about that," she pressed, remembering his words very clearly prior to Jesse's intrusion. There was no jealousy or insecurity in her eyes; just an unshakable desire to access his past just like she had allowed him to access to hers. Rick nodded.

"A few months after it happened, Jesse and I engaged in what could at best be described as an affair… in reality we were both just using each other for a couple of weeks before I ended it." He glanced behind him. "Badly, mind you, but I ended it… Ron never forgave me and I think he thinks I took advantage of his mother."

"Did you?"

Rick's eyes darkened. "We all have needs, Michonne," he whispered, watching as her lips parted slightly. "Things that help us survive. Help us feel human. Things we need to move on. For the future."

"What is it that you needed, Rick?"

"A partner."

She tilted her head to the side, watching him carefully. "Did you find one?"

He snorted. "Not even on a basic level," he admitted. Her mind flashed to Mike and Ellory and she could not fault him his answer.

"Then what?"

"I thought she could give me what I needed and she thought I could do the same for her and her kids," he responded pointedly. "I'm not proud of it, but I'm not going to feel bad for ending something that shouldn't have happened in the first place."

Michonne stared at him for a while, processing what he had said along with what she had heard, not only just now, but from what little information Maggie could offer earlier when they had talked in the trailer. There was an unnerving aspect about the Andersons that seemed to stem from a woeful unpreparedness for the world they were living in, even five years after it had ended. Rick seemed to have been a flashpoint in aggravating that aspect. It could become dangerous.

"You should have told me," she muttered, causing him to frown. "You should have told me Carl's shooter lived here."

"I know… I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you?"

"Ellory."

Her eyes snapped to him. It was the first time he had used that response and as she searched his face, she could tell he was being forthright.

In all honesty, Rick had intended to tell Michonne about Jesse, but the closer he got with her and the more he understood about the circumstances surrounding Ellory and Fargo, the less interest he had in broaching the unpleasant subject. While the similarities were superficial at best, the idea of discussing his regrettable actions after Ellory did not seem worth it.

He could tell she was angry and he understood why.

"Ellory?"

"Yes."

She stared at him for a moment and then looked down at her hands, fiddling with the strap of her katana holster. This conversation was unpleasant enough without bringing up that man, but as upsetting as it was, she was grateful that he told her the truth.

"Did you think Carl could handle being here?"

"I did."

Michonne recalled her son's reaction to seeing Ron yesterday and sighed. He had handled it well, though it seemed that Ron's unresolved issues would cause further problems.

"I'll talk with Carl," Rick assured her. "Maggie already gave Ron a punishment, but…"

He did not need to continue. Late night discussions of Shane, Ellory, and other unstable individuals in their past made it perfectly clear that this situation would only get worse. However, the precarious nature of the events left little to be done in the way of remedying it. Maggie's sentence of hard labor was the best she could do short of exile or outright execution, and those were not sentences she could in good conscience give for what had objectively been an accident. They had managed to skirt this scenario for the most part due to Carl's insistence that he and Ron could be cordial with each other while Rick simply avoided the Andersons during his visit to the Hilltop. The shooting had changed everything and had reopened old wounds.

"Michonne."

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

He reached out to take her hand and despite her anger, she instinctively laced her fingers with his, thankful for the intimacy. Nodding solemnly, she gave his hand a quick squeeze and kissed his cheek before she moved towards Barrington House. "Okay... I'm going to check on Judith and Andre."

"GLENN! GLENN!"

Maggie's piercing cries brought the entire Hilltop to a standstill while Jesus appeared at the door of the Rhee trailer.

"Someone find Glenn! Maggie's going into labor!"

* * *

They spent two hours outside of the Rhee trailer, waiting as Maggie went through the delivery. A rather large group had formed, all anxious about the delivery and eager to hear good news. After five years, only four children had successfully been birthed among the three communities, including Judith and Hershel Jr. One mother from the Kingdom had died shortly after giving birth, providing Tara and Denise with the child they cared for, so it was a nerve wracking two hours, capped off with a high pitched cry, and squeals of joy.

Another thirty minutes passed before Glenn's beaming face appearing at the door, proclaiming the birth of his daughter, June Rhee.

"Oh my God, look at her!" Jesus cooed as they came into the trailer, the small group Glenn let in crowding around Maggie's bed as she held the newborn close to her chest. Enid was wiping tears from her eyes and holding Hershel Jr, while Carl sidled up to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, kissing her temple.

"Maggie, she's beautiful," Michonne agreed.

"Where'd the name June come from?" Carl asked and Enid motioned to her father.

"It's Glenn's mother's name," she explained as Rick stood beside Glenn, clapping him on the back and gazing proudly upon the scene.

"Congratulations," he whispered while the rest fawned and fussed over Maggie.

"Thanks Rick," Glenn replied, unable to stop grinning as he watched Maggie gently showed June around. Andre and Judith clamored around the bed, jumping up and down to catch a glimpse. It was not long before the doctor insisted that Maggie get some rest, trying to usher everyone out.

While Michonne corralled the children, Rick hung back briefly, crouching down next to Maggie as Glenn took the baby.

"Hey," Maggie smiled, taking his hand warmly. "I'm glad you were here."

"Me too," he replied, glancing up at Glenn, who was cooing softly to his daughter. "You're incredible, Maggie."

She watched his eyes cloud over a bit and recognized the look. Like him, her mind flashed back to that day at the prison, to when she and Carl had emerged from the bowels of that tragic place only to witness Rick's first steps into a years' long mental descent.

"I miss her," she whispered and Rick nodded quietly.

"A lot's changed…" He pointed to Glenn. "Look at him. That's not the same man that crawled out of that well."

Maggie laughed and shook her head. "Yes and no… You're not the same man either, Rick. We've survived so much and I hope to God we continue to survive."

He kissed her temple and stood up, smiling. "We will… I'll leave you three alone. Congratulations again."

As he left the trailer, Rick's mind continued to wander to that day at the prison. The image of Carl and Maggie coming out into the yard, covered in blood, carrying Judith, without Lori was seared into his mind. He thought of what he had lost in that day and had spent years desperately trying to get back in the same form.

Rick looked up the hill to where Michonne was standing with the children and a group of Hilltop members, conversing happily ahead. She caught his eyes and after a brief moment, smiled brightly at him. The fight and tension from earlier had dissipated and while the concern was still there, they both knew that they would address it together. For now, they would focus on moving forward.

As he approached the excited crowd outside of Barrington House, he could hear various discussions all concerning June Rhee's birth as many immediately began planning a party to celebrate. A celebration that would occur the very next day.

Two groups were tasked with heading to Alexandria and the Kingdom to inform them of the birth and invite them to celebrate at Barrington House. The food stores were checked, alcohol inventoried, and Jesus insisted that the a capella choir from the Kingdom be brought over as well.

It was well past bedtime when the plans were complete, the night guard had already gone on shift, and others headed home. Rick had grown increasingly quiet throughout the evening and by the time they reached the top of the stairs, she sensed that the birth of June and the remembrance of his wife's death were stirring up bad memories for him. It made sense to her that he would have conflicting emotions about such a day, considering how his wife had died. She had seen his face change so many times as they heard Maggie in labor. He had paced and huffed, shooting frantic glances at the Rhee trailer, holding her hand tightly, and leaping to attention upon Glenn's emergence. She offered to put the kids to bed and he silently nodded, heading down the hall to his room.

"Mom, where do babies come from?"

"Andre, I am not having this conversation with you," Michonne muttered as they all stood in the bathroom, brushing their teeth.

"You said you'd tell me," Andre pouted.

"I said we'd talk about it later."

"It's later."

Carl snorted, drawing Michonne's gaze as he leaned over Andre to spit out his toothpaste.

"Why don't you ask your brother?" Michonne suggested.

Andre glanced over at Carl. "Well?"

"We're not ever having that conversation, Andre," the teen responded swiftly, patting him on the back. "Ever."

"Why not?"

Michonne rinsed her mouth and helped Judith clean her toothbrush. "Because you're way too young to be worried about where babies come from."

"But the baby had to have come from somewhere."

Carl rolled his eyes and grabbed his brother by the shoulders, pushing him out of the bathroom towards their room. "Time for bed."

"Wait for me!" Judith squealed, wriggling out of Michonne's grasp and hurrying to catch up with her brothers.

Michonne trailed after them, standing at the door to watch as Carl helped Judith get into her pajamas while Andre got into his night clothes. In spite of her run ins with the Andersons and the unfortunate revelations, the day had ended well for Michonne and she felt happier now than she had that morning on the front steps. Regardless of what happened in the past, the strange events of the day, capped off with June Rhee's birth, only made her feel closer to her family and more optimistic than ever before.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Can I go with you tomorrow?"

Smiling, Michonne came over and took over for Carl, who left the room to go change. Michonne had earlier volunteered to make the run to the Kingdom with Jesus tomorrow morning. When Andre realized that was where Shiva was, he would not rest until he was allowed to go as well.

"No, you cannot go."

"Why not?"

Michonne helped Judith into bed while Andre got in on the other side. "You're not old enough."

"But Andre gets to go!"

There was nothing more endearing that an indignant child trying to throw her fellow child under the bus.

"Am too!" Andre shot back immediately. "I'm twice your age!"

Judith stuck her tongue out at him and Michonne snorted back laughter. "Enough, Andre go to bed," she turned to Judith. "Sorry, baby, but it's a bit further than you can go, so you're gonna have to stay here."

"But I can kill monsters," Judith objected while Michonne tucked her in.

"I know.. But you need to stay here with Carl and your dad. We'll be back soon, I promise."

"Promise?" the child yawned.

"I promise."

Still clearly miffed about the whole situation, Judith reached out for a hug, which Michonne gladly provided.

"I love you," Judith whispered and Michonne's heart stopped as the little girl pulled away and snuggled up under the covers.

"Judith," she called and the girl looked up at her with all of the love and expectations any child would have towards an adored mother. Her chest constricted, her breathing quickened, and she held back ugly tears, reaching out to brush the soft curls out of Judith's face. "I love you too."

A content smile graced the child's face. "Goodnight, mommy," she murmured.

"Goodnight baby," Michonne mumbled, kissing her temple and pulling the covers over her shoulders. She went over and gave Andre a kiss. "Good night."

"Good night mom," he grumbled.

As she stood up, Carl came back in and gave her a quick hug before she moved to leave the room, gently closing the door behind her as she swiped at a tear. For a moment, she just allowed herself to experience the joy of what had just taken place. Her life had taken such an astonishing and wonderful turn that she barely knew what to do about it. So much had changed since arriving at Alexandria, yet as she composed herself her heart tugged, reminding her of one aspect that had not completely evolved.

She turned her sights on Rick's open bedroom door and held her breath. Her mind traveled to Ellory, to his unspoken, yet overwhelming demands. To how he had come to her in a time of weakness and taken full advantage. Then she thought of Rick's words during their ride to the Hilltop. She thought of today, and how despite the bump in the road, they both still managed to get back on the same page and move forward.

And that was exactly what she planned to do.

Approaching the door, Michonne thought over her next words carefully.

"Rick," she knocked on the doorjamb quietly, peering in to see him sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at his hands. "Rick..."

He looked up at her and caught the strange look on her face, mesmerized by how gorgeous she looked.

"Hey…"

"Hey."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah... you okay?"

He was quiet for a moment as his eyes lowered. "I will be."

"I know."

Rick looked up again and saw the trust in her eyes that he had felt from her for the longest while now. He saw thankfulness. He also saw love, unfiltered, unashamed. His heart soared at the look in her eyes and a small, relieved smile came to his face.

"Good."

The way he gazed up at her affirmed every suspicion she had over their growing intimacy in the past couple of weeks. Her heart fluttered at the reciprocated feelings she observed and she too offered a timid smile. Moving over to the bed, she removed her sword and sat down beside him, closing her eyes as they both settled into a warm silence. Side by side, knees and elbows gazing, their breathing synced.

The emotional exhaustion of the day seemed to crash upon them simultaneously.

"Today was interesting."

She snorted. "It ended well."

Rick fiddled with his watch. "Michonne, the Andersons-"

"Ron Anderson is dangerous," she cut in, catching his gaze. "But we'll deal with it."

"We will."

That was all that needed to be said. She watched him for a moment before she too looked down at her hands. There was so much swirling around in her mind as she sat near him. The intoxicating scent of his daily exertion, a smell she had become accustomed to and found herself anticipating, only added to her racing mind while she searched for the proper words to explain how she felt. "Andre and I head out tomorrow for the Kingdom," she whispered.

"I know, he told me… he's really excited." His voice was even, but the smile was gone from his lips, his eyes fixed on a spot on the floor. "He's not gonna wanna come back after he sees that damn tiger."

"Probably not."

"Perhaps you won't want to either," he added, somewhat jokingly, glancing up at her face to gauge her reaction.

His chest constricted at the ghost of a smile that graced her full lips. There was so much he wanted to say in that moment. Feelings he had kept buried since Lori's passing now resurrected in Michonne's presence, amplified by the new life added to the community.

"Michonne-"

"Judith just told me she loved me," she exclaimed, effectively silencing him. He looked up and saw tears pool in her eyes but she continued anyway, her heart and mind committed to every word spoken. "We haven't had the chance to talk about this… in fact, I think we've been purposefully avoiding it, but you and I…" She caught her breath and he sat up straighter, watching as she found her voice. "Rick, we're partners in this... we're together in this, whether you like it or not, so if you think that I'm not coming back..." Her voice cracked when he laced his fingers with hers, tears brimming in her eyes at his touch. They fell silent momentarily, the movements of the people downstairs filtering up through the door. It took a minute for him to respond, his heart soaring as he fought his own urge to cry.

"I do like it," he croaked, bringing her hand up to his lips as he breathed in her scent. He was quiet for a second as he turned his head and rested his burning cheek against her cool fingers, taking deep breaths as a weight suddenly lifted. "In fact I love it."

Michonne could barely breathe as tears ran unchecked down her face. Her heart skipped several beats when he finally looked into her brilliant brown eyes, his own heart racing at the reaction to his words. Reaching out, he wiped her wet cheek, savoring the feeling of her soft skin against his calloused hand. The way her lips trembled at his touch and her eyes fluttered shut under his caress. His body ached for more contact.

He leaned up and pressed a tender kiss to her temple. "I love it a lot," he continued into her skin before resting his head against hers. Their noses grazed and hot breath mingled as they held each other close.

Opening their eyes, they locked gazes briefly. His heart pounded and her voice hitched when their lips finally caressed, a wave of giddiness and heat washing over them at the intimacy.

"Dad!" Andre yelled. "Dad!"

They broke the kiss, but remained touching, smiling breathlessly.

"God damn he has the worst timing," Rick growled huskily, running his fingers across her skin longingly. She giggled, which only compelled Rick to lean in and kiss her more fully. A shiver shot through her when he glided his tongue along her bottom lip, gently probing for entry.

"Dad!"

"He's gonna wake up Judith," she mumbled against his lips reluctantly, though the hand she now rested on Rick's chest indicated an interest in continuing. He planted a chaste kiss to the corner of her mouth.

"Perhaps he'll stop if we stay quiet."

"Dad!"

"Your son's calling you," she countered as she heard Andre head down the hall. She reached out and brushed her thumb over his lower lip teasingly before pulling away.

"Dad!" Andre appeared at the door and hesitated when he saw them sitting close together on the bed. Despite being so young, his mother had taught him how to read a room quickly and Andre sensed that he had walked in on something. However, still being eight, he was not as bothered by what it was and refused to dwell on it.

"What is it? Judith's sleeping," she scolded after witnessing his exasperation.

"I can't sleep."

"You've only tried for five minutes," Rick pointed out and Andre motioned to his mother.

"No one will tell me where babies come from!"

Michonne immediately stood up and walked over to him. "I told you we're not having this conversation."

He put his hands on his hips. "I was asking Dad!"

Rick's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Nope, you and I are not having this conversation either. Go to bed."

"But-"

Michonne began to lead Andre down the hall, glancing over her shoulder apologetically at Rick. "Andre, we'll discuss this in the morning. It's late, please go to bed."

When they reached the door, Andre turned to her. "Fine… did you kiss him?"

The stunned look on his mother's face was all he needed for an answer. His eyes lit up and he jumped up and down. "Did you tell him you love him?"

"Keep your voice down," she hissed, crouching down in front of him. "No, I didn't and no you cannot go over there and tell him." She gently caught his arm and pulled him back, holding him in place. "Andre, I told you I would tell him in my own time and I will… now go to bed and enough baby talk, okay?"

"Okay…"

He reluctantly returned to the bedroom and just as Michonne was getting ready to head back to Rick's room, he emerged, adjusting his gun belt.

"I'm helping with the gate tonight," he explained, checking his watch. "I lost track of time, so I'm actually late."

She shook her head understandingly. "Go… we'll talk later."

A lop-sided smile graced Rick's face and he leaned in to capture her lips in a searing kiss that left her breathless. Her hand cupped his face as the other found its way into his curls, tugging him closer as the kiss deepened momentarily. He shivered when their tongues brushed, but reluctantly pulled away a little, planting a quick kiss on her nose before he stepped back. He knew if he stayed any longer, they would end up back in his room and as pleasing a thought as that was, he did not want to shirk his responsibilities.

"Yeah, later."

She grinned, ecstatic and warmed by the clear look of lust in his eyes. "Goodnight, Rick."

Unable to help himself, he leaned in and snuck one more kiss before heading down the hall.

"Goodnight, Michonne."

* * *

Unfortunately for both of them, the next day got away from them. Michonne and Jesus departed for the Kingdom quickly after dawn with Andre in tow and Rick was roped into helping with the party for that night. The new baby occupied everyone's time as they ensured the celebration would not disturb Maggie or June, while Glenn moved back and forth between their trailer and Barrington House, checking in on Maggie's behalf to ensure things were still running smoothly.

Folks from the Kingdom and Alexandria began arriving late in the afternoon, bringing food and tents to set up outside while furniture was moved around downstairs to clear space for additional people. The atmosphere had shifted and for Rick personally, his heart was still soaring from last night. Even as he helped move things into the House and interacted with his friends, he anxiously awaited Michonne and Andre's return.

Yesterday had been a rollercoaster for him emotionally, but after the kiss at the bed, he could only think of being near her again, caressing her skin, listening to her voice. While he had yet to admit it to anyone but himself, he knew he was in love with Michonne and after everything that had transpired at the Hilltop, he felt compelled to tell her.

His anxiety morphed into irritation as evening fell upon them once again and the celebration kicked into gear. The house was pulsing with life as many from the three communities ate, drank, toasted, and in the case of Eugene, Tara, Jesus, and to everyone's surprise, Enid, danced. Carol and Morgan were outside with Eric and Sasha, while Abraham was regaling a huge crowd in the library. Rosita had stayed behind at Alexandria with others including Father Gabriel, Denise, and Aaron, to keep an eye on the community. Glenn was enjoying the festivities, but would occasionally disappear to go check on Maggie and June, much to everyone's amusement.

Rick had finally caught up to Andre, who spent a good ten minutes extolling Shiva, before informing his father that he had no idea where Michonne was. She had gone up to change, but when Rick went to look for her, she was nowhere to be found.

When Rick made his way back downstairs, he was about to head outside when he caught sight of Michonne standing in the corner, quietly sipping water and watching the dancers with a smile.

As he approached, Rick's breath hitched and his heart pounded.

She was glowing.

She wore a multicolored top and black jeans that clung well to her lithe form, accentuating her dark skin and drawing due attention to her curves. Her hair, normally down or pushed back slightly by the bandana, was now up on her head in an intricate bun, allowing her slender neck to breathe.

When she saw him, a small but unique smile appeared on her face. A smile she seemed to save for him. Her eyes roved over him quickly, her lips parted, pupils dilated, and then she returned to her captivated crowd, purposefully ignoring his appearance.

When he sidled up to her, she nudged his arm playfully as they quietly watched the festivities. She was glad to finally see him.

"You look beautiful," he whispered and she felt her cheeks warm.

"Thank you…"

"How did you like the Kingdom?"

"Wonderful place. I don't think I've ever felt more out of place."

"Seriously?"

"Ezekiel's a strange man… with a tiger."

Rick chuckled. "True."

"Did you see Andre?"

"I did, he told me all about Shiva."

"Did he tell you that he freaked out?"

"No."

She giggled. "He just stood there and stared for five minutes, he couldn't move. It was the funniest thing."

He grinned. "I'm glad you had a good time."

She glanced up at him. "Yeah… but I'm glad to be back."

Rick's heart clenched painfully and he wanted nothing more than to find a secluded spot for them to be in.

"Same."

The look in his eyes was obvious and Michonne turned back to the party. She had spent the entire day thinking about Rick and their kiss last night, wondering what would have happened if they had had the opportunity to go back to his room. Jesus had picked up on her giddiness and admitted to her that he had never seen either of them so happy before. It was not something she took lightly.

For a moment they just stood there, the merriment of the celebration washing over them as they observed people mingling, laughing, sharing stories, and more dancing. Glancing over at her, he could see the wheels turning in Michonne's head. A small smile graced her lips and he longed to know what she was thinking. It took a minute, but she seemed to reach an internal decision that she was happy with.

"Rick."

"Yeah."

"I love it," she whispered, finally meeting his gaze, the look in her eyes was unmistakably clear and a wave of heat struck him. Pushing away from the wall, she turned to him mischievously. "Being your partner in this. I love it too." The huge grin on his face proclaimed the happiness he felt at her words. Pleased with this reaction, she reached out and took his hand. "Let's get out of here," she murmured, he nodded, and the next second they slipped out of the main foyer.

The giddiness they experienced in Rick's bedroom overtook them now as they hurried down a small corridor towards a back office. Rick gently traced circles up her arm, delighting in the smile on her face as she shivered at his touch, glancing over her shoulder at him eagerly as she led the way. When they entered, Rick remained by the door while Michonne moved to the desk, appreciating how beautiful she was and waiting for her cue. She caught him admiring her and it was enough to arouse her.

"Come here," she motioned determinedly and he closed the distance, taking her face in his hands to share an elated kiss. They stood there for a moment, holding each other as they were finally able to enjoy their new intimate space. When Rick's hand slid down her body, brushing her breasts before resting on her hips, she trembled with anticipation.

It had been a long time since she had been touched like that and the very memory of her time with Ellory led her to want to take full control of this situation. Safe in Rick's arms, she knew exactly how she wanted the rest of their night to go and judging by the passionate way he kissed her, he was on the same page. Looking up into his eyes, she released a shaky breath before biting her lip and pulling away from him a little. He was confused by her actions, but she tilted her head cheekily, strangely at ease despite how long it had been since she had been with a partner. She felt confident under his gaze.

"Take off your clothes."

The lopsided grin and lustful glint in his eyes left her wet and breathless. He held her gaze as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt, kicking off his boots and unzipping his jeans.

Within a minute, Rick found himself standing before Michonne completely naked, watching as her eyes raked ravenously over his body, arousing him as he waited once again for her. Stepping closer, Michonne took him in, reaching out gently to run her hands over his scars and toned stomach. It was a quiet moment of intimacy before Michonne's fingers traveled lower on his body, tracing the trail of hair down to his growing erection.

"Shit," Rick moaned when her long fingers curled around him, startling her out of her amazement as his hips bucked in her grip and he leaned in, capturing her lips in a searing kiss. She grinned into his mouth and stroked him teasingly, loving the reaction he gave her. Her touches were driving Rick out of his mind and he feared he would explode right there in her hands if he allowed her to continue. "Fuck, Michonne." He grabbed her hand, stopping her ministrations and causing them to break apart slightly.

"Hey," she breathed, wanting desperately to touch him again. Unable to help himself, Rick pressed a wet kiss to her full lips as he began to back her up to the wall, pressing his body against hers and grateful to feel her quiver when his hardened length pressed on her thigh. He could feel the heat radiating from her and it took everything in his power not to cum on her clothes.

"Hey," he replied, carefully removing her blouse and cupping her exposed breast while his other hand found its way in her jeans to finally alleviate his own desire to feel her. Touch her. Love her.

"Rick." Her eyes fluttered shut, humming gratefully when his fingers brushed over her soaked panties. He kissed her again as he slowly moved the cloth aside and eagerly dipped his fingers into her slick folds. She rolled her hips against his hand, groaning into a kiss as he massaged her breast, but jerked away in surprise when he tentatively pressed a finger into her hot core, breaking them apart momentarily.

Rick had spent long nights imagining this moment with her and as he gauged her response to his actions, realizing he could not rush this. As much as he wanted to be with her, make love to her, his primary concern was to pleasure her.

It took her a second to recover before she gave him a nod to continue. Planting a couple of loving kisses on her face, he smiled as he began unzipping her jeans.

"Don't move," he growled into her soft skin, encouraging a whimper from her as he lowered himself to his knees, pulling her pants and underwear down together. He helped her take her shoes off before she was able to step out of her clothes, leaving her completely exposed to him.

For a moment, Rick just stared at her gorgeous, trembling body, toned and curved in all of the right places. Like him, she had scars from years of traversing the wilderness after the turn, but they only added to her overall beauty and sexiness as she caught his eyes. A split second of nervousness evaporated when she saw how enraptured he looked staring up at her, causing her to release a giggle. It was short lived when he pressed a kiss to her inner thigh, inhaling her arousal and running his hands up her legs.

"Michonne," he whispered as she reached out to run her fingers through his hair and catching her attention.

"Yes?" she paused with bated breath.

He took a deep breath, unable to contain his feelings as he gazed up into her eyes. "I love you…"

Michonne face broke out into a massive grin and Rick could have died happy in that moment, his heart soaring while he smiled like a fool back at her. She was tempted to respond, but instead took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together as they basked in the warmth of his words. There was no need for him to hear him say it back. The look in her eyes told him everything before he looked down and buried his face between her legs

His tongue slid along her warm, wet folds, sending shockwaves through her body before he latched his lips to her pulsing clit, sucking and probing hungrily as he settled in to ravenously devour her. It had been so long since she had been intimate with someone that Michonne's knees nearly buckled while her grip on his hair tightened instinctively. Her head fell back against the wall as he gripped her plump rear firmly in one hand and reached up to gently thumb her pert nipple, coaxing a strangled cry out of her.

"Jesus," he growled, shifting and pushing his tongue deeper into her, his own hard on throbbed painfully while he enjoyed the way she tasted and writhed at his touch.

Rick could not remember the last time he had pleasured a woman. Yet kneeling before Michonne, listening to her whimper his name, he knew he was ruined. He could not imagine ever feeling the way he did now, bringing her closer to orgasm. He watched as her body glistened with sweat, bucking and moaning, and he pushed his tongue in and out of her assertively. Michonne barely had time to think as her body swiftly reached the apex. The noises he made as he lapped at her folds, his beard only serving to heighten her sensitivity as her thighs clenched around him. He hummed into her sex, taking her again in his mouth and swirling his tongue around her bundle of nerves.

"Rick… Rick!" He moved quickly to hold her up as she gushed into his mouth, the very act nearly causing him to come right there on the floor. Keeping her steady, he licked her clean as she recovered, gulping in air while running her fingers along his scalp. Rick reverently kissed each thigh before she unexpectedly slid down the wall, her weakened legs catching them both off guard.

"Are you okay?" he chuckled when she giggled, her smile causing his pulse to quicken.

"Yeah," she nodded slowly, reaching out to tug playfully on his chin and biting her lip. "But I think I may have a complaint about that beard."

Rick laughed, leaning in to kiss her firmly as he gathered her in his arms. She stifled a wanting moan when she felt his erection rub against her as he carefully stood them both up against the wall. Tasting herself on his tongue, she pulled him closer, their naked bodies burning lustfully.

"You weren't complaining earlier," he grinned into her skin, making her shudder. Once again he stopped her when she reached out to touch him. He was already pushing it. If he let her stroke him before he was able to experience being inside her, he was afraid he would not last long.

Instead, he pressed her more fully against the wall as he grabbed her thigh, pulling it up to his waist. Grasping his intention, she snaked her arm around his neck and after a bit of somewhat awkward yet enjoyable maneuvering along with an impressive show of strength, she managed to wrap her legs around his waist. The position finally allowed Michonne the opportunity to reach between their bodies, taking hold of his hard cock, watching his face as he moaned under her touch. While bringing him to her entrance, she stroked him gently a few times, smiling as his hips jerked, desperate to explore her more.

"Michonne," he grunted, resting his head against hers as she guided him so that his dripping tip was rubbing up against her hot entrance. Rick strengthened his stance just when she squeezed her thighs around him, coaxing him to continue.

Michonne's loud gasps were masked by his lips as he pushed into her, spreading her legs a bit so he could sink deep. She broke the kiss, her body stiffening slightly and she whimpered for him to slow his entry as she adjusted to his size. He groaned into her skin, loving how wet she was for him and how her walls contracted completely around his throbbing member.

"God, Michonne, you're tight," he gasped, pausing to collect himself and temper his enthusiasm. She pressed a quick kiss to his temple, brushing away the hair plastered to his face and listening to his breathing. Their eyes met, enjoying the brief pause, lips grazing lazily as they smiled adoringly at each other. There was so much that could have been said in that moment, yet it seemed unnecessary.

Rick loved her and she loved him.

It was straightforward.

When he shifted a little, the friction caused her to whisper his name, running her fingers through his hair while pulling him into a kiss, tongues sparring hungrily. Without another thought he withdrew and pushed back into her, cajoling a different, lustful sound from her. Slowly he began to thrust into her, burying his face in the crook of her neck as they took a few moments to finally find a pleasurable rhythm.

"Oh my God," she cried, unable to hold back while they passionately made love against the wall. She met his thrusts with equal exuberance as he plunged repeatedly into her, leaving her mind spinning, bringing her to the height of bliss.

Rick had given up on going slow, so overwhelmed by the ecstasy of being inside of her, of feeling her encompassing him, of watching her body ardently meet his to become one in that moment. With her words of love still spinning in his ear, he was nearly delirious as he sped up his strokes, desperate to express physically everything he possibly could.

"Rick," Michonne moaned, running her hand through his hair as their lovemaking grew more vigorous. Her call and reflexes only spurred him to increase his tempo while reaching down between them to massage her sensitive bud in an effort to bring her closer to climax. The action caused her head to fall back against the wall, groaning out a soft 'fuck' of appreciation as he continued his ministrations, each stroke deeply hitting its mark.

"Say my name again," he growled and she smiled.

"Rick." He thumbed her clit just right and she gasped. "Oh my God, Rick!"

This time, Michonne could feel the telltale weakness spreading from her toes and up her spine, as the pressure coiled in her stomach. "Rick," she cried before his lips covered hers, stifling out her moans as her walls contracted around him, the sweet orgasm ripping its way through her writhing body. Having held out for so long, Rick grunted with release, burying his face in her neck as his hot seed filled her.

The world slowly came back in to focus as their heavy breathing filled the room. Still intertwined, they basked in the glow of their first coupling.

"Fuck me," Michonne purred into his ear, finally coming down from her high.

"Sorry," he mumbled meekly.

Frowning, she caught his eyes and tilted her head. "For what?"

His cheeks burned as he motioned down to their hips and her eyes widened when she realized what he was referring to. "Oh," she giggled breathlessly, shaking her head at him and flicking tresses of his hair out of his face. "I didn't mind," she assured him, her eyes closing briefly as she felt him finally withdraw from her.

Michonne kissed his sweaty temple tenderly, listening to his breathing against her tingling skin as he gently traced circles on her back. Weakened slightly, he slowly released her, gripping her hips carefully as he ensured she was able to stand as well. They remained by the wall, inhaling deeply and leaning into one another, enjoying the warmth. Michonne ran her fingers through his hair, loving the feeling of his soft curls and his breath on her neck as he waited for his mind to clear.

"Shit," Rick gasped, his heart swelling when she giggled at his state of wonder. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and caressed her cheeks, still wanting to touch her. When they looked at each other, it was clear that she felt the same way.

"That was good," she murmured and he smiled joyously.

"I thought so too," he replied with a wink, warming her up inside as he drew away from her.

Michonne watched him retrieve their clothes, admiring his nakedness yet cognizant that they could be happened upon at any moment. Instead of rushing, though, he took his time, helping her slip back into her underwear with caressing, tender hands. He kissed her warm skin affectionately as he brought the cloth up to her hips, holding her firmly as he pressed his lips up to her bare abdomen with such loving diligence that she was tempted to rip her panties off and engage with him again. He stopped just beneath her breasts, catching her eyes and offering that lopsided smirk that made her heart ache. He held her gaze as his hands brushed over her rear, gripping her fully, he pulled her close to him, basking in the feel of her and under her loving eyes. She smiled cheekily down at him, covering his hand with hers and leaning down to kiss him quickly, stifling a squeal when he caught her bottom lip in his teeth and nibbled on it playfully.

Running a hand down her leg teasingly, Rick reached out for her jeans and helped her step into them, kissing each thigh before the cloth was pulled up to her waist and zipped. As he stood to secure the top button, Michonne reached out with a smirk and ran her fingers down his bare torso, memorizing the scars that enhanced his lean physique. She could feel his heart racing strongly beneath his skin and she loved the beat of it on her fingertips. She loved that she was the reason his breath caught in his throat.

Their eyes met once again and Michonne laughed, unable to hold back the giddiness she was experiencing. Rick mimicked her briefly before he leaned in for another kiss, overwhelmed by the freedom to suddenly do so. They shared a quick kiss then Michonne pulled away and moved around to gather up the rest of their clothes. She teasingly tossed Rick his underwear and jeans, watching him out of the corner of her eye while she grabbed her shirt and pulled it on. As she looked around for her katana, she felt Rick come up from behind and wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her up against his chest. He planted gentle kisses on her neck, breathing in her scent, and wishing they had more time. He knew that his absence would be noticed, but all he wanted to do was explore this new space with her.

"Michonne."

"Yes."

He rested his head on her shoulder and she could feel him smile against her skin. "You are a _very_ beautiful woman." He pressed a couple of small kisses on her shoulder before he leaned back and turned her so he could look her in the eyes. Their mischievous gleam caused his heart to beat faster and he leaned in to capture her lips in a tender kiss.

"And you are a very handsome man," she murmured before biting her lip as she thought of them having to go back out there. "We should talk to the kids."

"Tomorrow," he replied and she smiled.

"Tomorrow."

They gazed at each other for a minute before she felt her body heat up under his gaze and pulled away from him slowly, realizing they would end up making love again if she did not take charge.

"We should go," she suggested quietly and he nodded. He tucked a loc behind her ear and kissed her temple before he walked over to where he had left his gun belt. As he buckled it up, Michonne pulled on her katana and led the way out of the room. As they walked down the hall, their fingers brushed and knowing smiles graced both their faces.

* * *

"Carl!" Andre yelped when he finally caught sight of the teenager, breaking away from his equally small peers to join Carl at the back of Barrington House.

"Hey Andre!" The teen tossed the football to Elena and intercepted the boy with equal excitement. They shared a quick hug before Andre eagerly pulled Carl over to the wooden wall for more privacy.

"I have to tell you something," he began, eyes bright.

"What is it?"

"Rick kissed mom!" He blurted out, unable to contain the secret anymore. Carl was surprised but smiled at his brother's genuine joy at this news.

"When?"

"Last night. I saw them and mom says she loves him!"

Carl's eyes widened at the deluge of information. "Seriously?"

Andre nodded, practically bouncing up and down with glee. "Mom loves him, Carl! But she won't tell him, so I think we should tell dad, just to make sure-"

Carl froze. "No!"

"Why not?"

Noting the anxiety in his voice, Carl realized that Andre was worried about the family unit. It was a symptom of all of the books he read with happier books typically containing parents who were not only together, but in love with each other. Andre wanted to secure that happiness for their family and Carl could not fault him for that. Shaking his head, Carl offered a reassuring smile. "It'll be fine. They'll talk, I'm sure..."

Andre did not looked convinced. "Are you sure? Mom keeps talking about grown up things, but I think if Dad just knew-"

Carl took his shoulders gently. "Andre, it's fine," he calmed, somewhat amused by his brother's naïve understanding of how relationships worked. "It'll be fine. Dad loves her too, so it's okay."

"I wouldn't believe that if I were you."

The two boys turned to see Ron standing nearby, glaring at Carl.

"What does that mean?" Andre questioned fearfully while Carl faced the teen completely.

"What the hell is your problem?" He demanded.

Ignoring Carl, Ron looked down at Andre with a strangely vengeful determination in his eyes. "Rick doesn't love your mom. He's just using her like he uses every single mom he comes across 'cause he can't keep it in his pants!"

Carl felt Andre begin to tremble beside him as a strangled yelp escaped the child's lips. Rage bubbled up inside of him and he stepped between the two.

"Shut the hell up, you don't know what you're talking about," Carl snarled, which only served to antagonize Ron.

"I know _exactly_ what I'm talking about!" The teen pointed a finger in Carl's face. "Your dad destroyed my family, fucked my mom, and then threw her out of Alexandria like trash! And he's gonna do the same thing to him and his mom!"

"Dad loves my mom," Andre whimpered.

"He's not your goddamned dad!"

Andre gasped and reached out to Carl, quaking in his shoes as Ron's words unearthed familiar memories of Ellory.

"Shut up, you asshole," Carl countered angrily. "You have no idea what the hell you're talking about. Dad apologized about what happened, but he didn't throw her out! Your mom left, period." He pointed back to the house. "Sounds like she doesn't tell you everything. Go back inside!"

Ron's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why? So I can see Rick Grimes fucking his mom?"

"What?" Andre gasped, tears welling up in his eyes as he struggled to comprehend what was being said through all of the explicit language and hateful tones. Michonne had taught him that such words, especially the f-word, were bad and were never a good thing to say or do.

He did not understand though... why would Rick be hurting his mother? He was not like Ellory... He couldn't be like Ellory... this did not make any sense...

Andre looked at Ron, watching as he and Carl's argument became more physical.

His heart was racing, the blood pounding in his ears, drowning out the words they were exchanging.

All he could see was Ron and after another second, Andre just charged without thinking, catching the teen off guard and knocking him off his feet.

"Andre!" Carl yelled.

Before he could grab him, Andre was already on top of Ron, slamming his small fists against the boy's face a couple of times when Ron's knuckles connected with the side of his face, sending him flying into the concrete with a thud.

Carl tackled Ron before he could get up. They rolled around on the ground, striking each other violently before Ron managed to hit Carl in the shoulder he had shot.

Crying out and cringing, Carl collapsed on his back while Ron got on top of him and pulled out his gun, pressing the barrel painfully against Carl's temple.

"Fuck you, Carl!" He bellowed. "Fuck you, and fuck your dad! All you ever do is ruin people's lives!" His finger wrapped around the trigger. "I'm gonna put a stop to that."

"NO!"

A shot rang out as Rick and Michonne spoke with Jesus in the foyer, followed by screaming from outside that silenced the festivities as those inside drew their weapons, anticipating a walker breach. Michonne followed Rick as he raced out the back door to find a much different sight.

Several of the younger people, including several small children, were either scattering or hiding behind trailers and crops as Elena crouched over a prone form on the ground. She was yelling orders to one of the frightened youths to get help. There was blood all over the dirt and beyond the person on the ground Carl leaned against the wall, gasping for air and eyes wide in shock, fixed on Andre, who stood just ahead of him, bloody katana in hand.

"Andre!" Michonne screamed, breaking away from Rick to fall in front of her son. "Andre, are you okay? Baby-"

"RON!"

Jesse's horrified cry pierced through the night air and drew their attention back to the body Jesus and Elena hovered over.

"Jesus Christ," Rick gasped when he finally saw that the teen was lying on the ground, gaping in pained, stupified silence at his missing hands, which lay a couple of feet away, cleanly separated from their owner. Blood poured everywhere as Elena frantically tied a tourniquet to his arm.

"Get the doctor!" Jesus ordered, having come out just behind Jesse. His eyes moved over to Andre, who seemed to be in a fugue state, before he caught Rick's gaze.

"Ron!" Jesse screamed over and over, gathering him up in her arms. "Who did this?! Who did this to you?!"

To their shock, Ron managed to raise his head and point a bloody, trembling stub at Andre before he passed out. The rapidly growing crowd gasped as Jesse looked around wildly for the perpetrator. "You!"

Michonne stood up instantly to block her view of Andre, hand on her katana and eyes narrowed dangerously at the shrill, unhinged tone in the mother's voice. She recognized that tone. It was the same one that ordered her up a tree.

Taking note of Michonne's fighting stance, Jesus stepped in. "Get them in the house," he told Rick quickly before motioning to a couple of people close by. "Help pick him up," he ordered.

"That boy!" Jesse began, but a couple of women moved over to her, hastily ushering her away to follow the men who had taken her son. Others crowded around, staring fearfully at Andre, who still seemed unaware of his audience.

"Michonne," Rick hissed, holstering his gun and moving around to check on Carl, who had a bloody lip and smarting eye. He was splattered all over with blood. "Are you okay?"

Carl blinked and tore his eyes away from the pool of blood Ron had left behind. "What?," he breathed loudly. It was then that Rick saw the blood trickling out of his ear and gun powder burns on the other side of his face.

"Jesus," Rick gasped.

Realizing that both boys were in dazes, Michonne and Rick ushered them back into Barrington House and up to the second floor, into Rick's room. Michonne grabbed Andre's katana and placed it carefully on the floor before she sat Andre down in a small chair and knelt before him, gasping at his appearance. In the light, she could see the cuts and scrapes that peppered his face along with a skinned elbow that added to the blood on his arm. She felt her own blood boil at the thought of someone laying hands on her child and ran a finger gently over his bruised cheek to finally catch his attention.

"What happened?" She demanded. "Andre, what happened?"

He looked at her and then at Carl, stammering to explain what had just taken place, but as he struggled to find the words, he looked down at his bloody hands. The metallic smell filled his nostrils and he was bombarded with memories of Ellory. Flashes of Fargo.

"I… I… I didn't mean to…"

Michonne could see him descending dangerously into a panic and she reached out to take his shoulders. "Andre, baby, you need to look at me," she pleaded while Carl and Rick watched helplessly as Andre's chest heaved frantically.

He could see it now. The flames engulfing the compound. He could hear the screams. The crackling of burning flesh and the groans of walkers drawn to the fire.

"Did I kill him?" He asked suddenly and she gasped out tears, shaking her head.

"I don't… I don't know…"

The boy looked down at his hands, eyes widening as if he just noticed the blood that dripped from them. "No!" Andre yelped, wiping at his arms desperately as tears streamed down his face. "No! No!"

Realizing what was happening, Michonne looked over at Rick and Carl. "Get out," she ordered as she grabbed Andre's face in her hands and held him securely as he continued to panic, crying uncontrollably as he begged his mother for forgiveness.

Rick's heart clenched painfully at Andre's pain and he made a move to approach but to his surprise Carl stopped him, eyes filled with worry and fear.

"Dad, no," Carl choked loudly, pulling him out into the hall. Even as they closed the door behind them, Andre's wracked sobs could be clearly heard as well as Michonne's attempts to calm him.

"Carl-"

"You need to tell them that Andre didn't do anything wrong," Carl blurted out, cutting his father off. His voice boomed around the hall. "Ron was the one who started the whole thing and fucking tried to shoot me and Andre-"

Rick grabbed Carl by the shoulders. "Wait, Ron shot you!"

Carl shook his head in frustration, just now able to hear his father properly. "No, I'm fine! Dad, listen, you need to tell them that Andre's innocent! He was just protecting me!"

"Carl, what the hell happened?" Rick pressed. He had not seen his son so scared in a long time and after the terrifying display with Ron, it was imperative that Rick knew the facts for himself. "Carl, you need to tell me what happened."

"That would be a good start."

They turned to see Glenn, Ezekiel, and Sasha making their way down the hall. They could still hear Andre crying on the other side of the door and Ezekiel moved to open it.

"Don't," Rick growled while Glenn approached them, worry written all over his face.

"Rick, is he okay? Carl… What the hell just happened?!"

"Glenn, Andre didn't do anything wrong!" Carl declared instantly. "Ron was the one who started the whole fucking thing!"

"Carl!" Rick snapped. "What happened!"

Realizing that he had not actually explained that part, Carl motioned to the room Andre and Michonne were in.

"Andre was just protecting me," he insisted.

"From Ron?" Glenn asked. Sasha's face was unreadable.

"Ron tried to shoot me," Carl told them.

"Why?" Rick snarled dangerously and Carl shook his head, unsure of how to explain the situation without divulging too many details.

"It wasn't about me… He and Andre got into a fight." It suddenly sunk in just how bad things were and he gulped. "It got out of hand."

"He and Andre were fighting?" Ezekiel muttered in confusion.

"Andre punched him and then they just started fighting… I tried to help."

"Ron pulled a gun on you?" Sasha asked quietly for clarification and Carl nodded.

"Yeah… And then Andre just…" Carl stopped himself from describing it the way it had happened. In all honesty, he had never seen a child snap in such a way. He hoped he never would again.

"Carl," Glenn called, bringing the teenager out of his thoughts.

"Andre was just protecting me."

Glenn motioned to the door. "Is he okay?"

Before Rick could respond, Michonne opened the door and looked out, startled momentarily by the gathering in the hall. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot and he knew she'd been crying. Her voice cracked when she spoke.

"We need to get him home," she murmured, glancing over at Sasha, who nodded quietly before she moved off down the hall.

"May we speak with him?" Ezekiel asked carefully and her eyes hardened.

"No," she responded before Rick got the chance. Without another word to them, she returned to the office. Rick exchanged glances with Glenn. The man nudged Ezekiel and motioned down the hall.

"We can deal with this later. Right now we need to deal with the walkers and calm everyone down," Glenn reminded the other leader.

"You know where to find me," Rick added before he and Carl retreated into the office.

Andre was lying on the couch in the corner, his back to them as Michonne returned to the edge, gently caressing his hair soothingly.

"Andre, let's go home," she whispered and he turned slightly.

"Now?"

Rick approached the couch and crouched down in front of him. "Yeah, let's go home."

Andre looked on the verge of unleashing fresh tears as he sat up to face Rick, eyes lowered in shame. "Am I in trouble?" He croaked softly and Rick shook his head.

"Andre look at me…" The boy refused to raise his eyes, so Rick took his face him his hands gently. "Son, look at me," he murmured. To his side, he heard Michonne's breath hitch, but he focused on Andre, who was also taken back by the word. "You're not gonna get in trouble for this, I promise."

"But-"

"Carl told me you were protecting him," Rick interjected, prompting Michonne to look over to Carl. "Andre, you protected your brother and that's all that matters to me. You didn't do anything wrong." Sensing his uncertainty, Rick pushed his locs back and made sure Andre could see the love and sincerity in his eyes. "Andre… I'm proud of you," he whispered.

Andre's eyes filled with tears. "Really?"

Rick nodded. "Really."

Carl stepped forward. "Mom and I are proud of you too," he piped up in an effort to improve the child's mood. It seemed to have a strange impact on the small boy, who saw how close Michonne and Carl were and turned back to Rick.

"I love you, Dad," he affirmed tentatively, causing Rick's heart to clench as he pulled Andre into a fierce embrace, wanting nothing more than to take away his child's pain.

"I love you, too," he assured Andre quietly, looking up at Michonne, who was choking back tears. "We're gonna get through this together, okay? As a family."

"Okay," Andre mumbled into Rick's shoulder, gripping his neck tightly as he began to cry again. Tightening his grip, Rick stood up with Andre in his arms and tilted his head to the door. "Let's go."

Carrying Andre close, Rick led the way down the hall, stopping so they could collect Judith before they headed out of the house. A large crowd had formed near where Sasha had pulled around the van, with Eugene and Abraham in the back seat and, Rosita, Carol and Morgan waiting in the car behind. Glenn was quietly talking to them when they noticed Rick's family and instead of saying anything, they quietly parted ways for the little group to pass. Michonne could see fear, anger, support, and disapproval in various eyes, but she pushed through, helping Rick get into the van with Andre before Carl slammed the door shut and Sasha drove away.

The ride back to Alexandria was tense and silent, save for Andre's occasional sniffling. From the back of the van, Rick gently rubbed his back soothing him as Andre slowly fell asleep. Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught Michonne watching them with a strange look on her face. Their eyes connected and he could not help but reach out to take her hand, hoping in that quiet moment to provide her with some semblance of comfort. Her fingers instantly laced with his and she leaned against him, brushing the locs out of Andre's face as she finally allowed herself a moment's respite. From the middle row, Carl held Judith and watched the three, smiling slightly. Despite Ron's revelation before his nasty words prompted Andre to attack, Carl should not have been surprised.

When they finally reached Alexandria, Sasha pulled up right in front of the Grimes home so that the family could get out. Michonne took Andre from Rick and led the groggy boy inside while Sasha and Abraham approached Rick.

"I'm gonna notify the gate to keep an eye out for anyone from the Hilltop," Abraham informed the man quietly. "We'll give you a heads up if one of them turns up."

Rick nodded slowly, exhaustion slowly taking over him. "Thank you," he managed. Sasha motioned behind him.

"Go get some rest," she urged. "We'll handle it."

They watched him climb the porch stairs before departing, leaving him and Carl out in the night air.

"You think Ron's gonna make it?" Carl asked quietly, surprising his father.

"I don't know… Hershel survived his leg…"

"Tyrese didn't," Carl retorted sadly and Rick bowed his head.

"We didn't get to him in time." There was a brief pause when Rick caught the concern on Carl's face. "Are you worried about Ron?"

Carl shook his head as he shifted a sleeping Judith in his arms. "No… Andre."

Rick's eyes clouded over at the painful memory of hearing the child crying in the room, covered in blood and burdened by the enormity of his actions. It was a sound he hoped to never hear again.

"We're gonna help him get passed this," Rick muttered and Carl saw the look in his father's eyes.

He thought of Ellory and all that he knew of the man. Of how he had taken advantage of Michonne to get Andre and how it had nearly killed them both. He had seen the panic in Andre's eyes when they had discussed these things back when they had first met. That same panic and fear had been present when Ron had told him what he had seen. He knew Ellory had been on Andre's mind when he attacked Ron and when he broke down afterwards and it was imperative that his father take steps to remove those memories from his brother's mind.

"I think the first step would be to explain to him what's going on with you and Michonne," Carl suggested quietly.

Rick's eyes widened. "Michonne and I?"

Carl lowered his gaze in slight embarrassment. "Ron said he saw you two… That's why he and Andre started fighting."

Realizing now why Carl was reluctant to provide details to the others, Rick closed his eyes and rubbed his face in frustration. This was not how he had intended for the kids to find out. Despite Michonne's words to him prior to their intimate coupling in the office, he still wanted a chance to explain the actual shift to the kids. His original thought of basking in the afterglow of their first time had been dashed and it did not occur to him that anyone else would find out until he and Michonne were able to sit the three down and explain the changed relationship.

Now, it seemed one nosy teenager with a vendetta against Rick had spilled the beans. And may have paid for it with his life.

"Carl, we were going to tell you-"

"I know," Carl cut him off before the conversation could get awkward. "And I'm happy for you, Dad. But Andre… The last man…" Carl stopped himself from continuing briefly. "You know what he did to them and Ron said some things that I think scared the shit out of Andre. You need to talk with him."

Rick nodded, leading the way inside. "I will. We will," he assured Carl before coming over to examine his son's bruising face with anger. "That fucking bastard," he muttered under his breath.

"I'm fine, Dad."

"Are you sure? How's your ear?"

"Still hurt, but I'll be fine."

Rick motioned upstairs. "Okay, let's get Judith in bed."

Carl nodded, "thanks," before Rick led the way up the stairs.

Rick watched them disappear into Judith's room before he turned his attention to the hall bathroom. Approaching the door, he found Michonne crouched in front of Andre, gently wiping blood off of his arms. Rick quickly entered and grabbed another cloth, running it under warm water before he joined her in cleaning off the sleepy boy's face. As the bruises and cuts became more apparent, Rick found his anger becoming more pronounced.

"How are you feeling?" Rick asked, pulling Michonne's attention away from Andre's hands.

Andre shrugged. "I've been worse," he mumbled and Michonne caught Rick's gaze before she resumed cleaning Andre's skin.

Realizing that this was the perfect opportunity to address the issue Carl brought up and he sighed. He had let go of the idea a long time ago that there would be ideal moments to take next steps, and this moment was no different. "Andre," he started.

"Yes, Dad."

Rick smiled. "I love your mom, you know that right," he whispered, determinedly avoiding Michonne's eyes as he awaited Andre's response. He did not need to see her face to know what was going on with her.

Andre looked between the two and then nodded slowly. "I know..."

Rick looked him straight in the eyes. "Good... cause I know Ron said some things that may have confused you and I need you to know that."

The child shifted in discomfort at the memory and Michonne frowned.

"What did he say to you?"

She could see his cheeks turn red as Andre lowered his eyes and she reached out to cup his face gently in her hands. He mumbled something, prompting her to lean in so that he could tell her explicitly what Ron had said.

"Oh my God," she gasped, glancing over at Rick quickly. "Honey, that's not what happened."

"So you two weren't-"

She shook her head quickly, reaching out to grab Rick's hand. "No, we were… but it wasn't like that… he wasn't hurting me…" Andre kept his eyes down. "Look at me, Andre. Andre, look at me… Rick isn't Ellory," she stated as soon as he raised his gaze. "This isn't Fargo." She offered a watery smile, unable to stop the flow of tears down her face. "We're safe here."

Rick reached out and rested a hand on Andre's shoulder, drawing his attention. "When you told me about what happened with Ellory, I promised you I'd never let anything like that happen again, and I meant it, Andre," he entreated, brushing his locs out of his eyes before laying his hand over Michonne's on Andre's face. "Regardless of what happened out there, this… with Carl, Judith, your mom, and me. This is our home, Andre. Okay?"

Shifting, Andre nodded slowly. "Okay."

For a couple of minutes they were quiet as Rick and Michonne finished cleaning up Andre and bandaging his wounds. Andre sniffed as he watched them and then finally asked for clarification.

"Did you tell him?"

Rick frowned. "Tell me what?"

"Mom! You said you'd tell!"

"Tell me what?"

"That she loves you."

"Andre," she sighed, closing her eyes and smiling as she felt Rick's eyes fall on her. She took a moment to gather her thoughts and chuckled to herself.

"Yeah, baby… I just did."

Andre completely missed her inflection and smiled. "Good."

Smiling, Michonne leaned in to kiss his cheek. "I love you, baby," she whispered. "Go get dressed for bed."

The child gave them both hugs before he left the bathroom, while Michonne stood up and went to clean the washcloths, eyes lowered and unreadable. Rick watched her with the weight of the world on her shoulders, happy with Andre's words but still aware that the events of the night, just like yesterday, left them with conflicting emotions.

She heard Rick approach her slowly and she sighed when he once again came up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her up against him in a warm, loving embrace. They stood there silently, breathing deeply, and wanting nothing more than to return to that moment in the office. Rick let his head fall to the crook of her neck, kissing her skin softly as she covered his hands with hers, holding him to her as her eyes closed.

"Stay with me tonight," he murmured into her ear and she slowly nodded. As bad as it had gotten tonight, there was nothing left to be done about it. Tomorrow would certainly bring its fair share of difficulties regarding the fallout of the boys' fight at the Kingdom, but for now, they would leave it be.

After she finished cleaning the cloth, Michonne followed Rick to his bedroom. They checked the kids' rooms first, seeing Judith sound asleep while Carl helped Andre change into some pajamas. When they entered Rick's room, they made sure to close and lock the door before approaching the bed. There was no hesitation or awkwardness as they silently helped each other disrobe. Rick gently removed Michonne's top before she set to work undoing his holster and belt. She barely looked at him, not that he needed her to. He could see the pain in her eyes and before she could begin on his jeans, he stopped her by taking her hands. She became still and raised her eyes to look into his. For a moment they just stared at each other, half naked and somehow unsurprised by their current state.

"He did nothing wrong," Rick whispered, reaching up to clasp her face. "We're gonna be fine, Michonne."

She nodded slowly and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I know."

Rick offered her his favorite brown shirt before they climbed into bed, Michonne nestled up against Rick's back as he held her protectively close to him. That morning, he never would have imagined she would be here with him, and now it seemed like the most natural place for them to end up. In spite of the violence earlier, he could not help but think back to that beautiful moment they shared in the office.

"Michonne."

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

She gave his arm a squeeze as he kissed her temple and pulled her closer to him. Soon, the entire house was fast asleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Please leave a review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So, not gonna apologize, cause I really just could not update this until it was ready and it wasn't ready until now. I know it's super overdue, but I hope some of you are still interested. I went through something of a writer's block, but I'm back and I hope that's going to last.**

 **Given the long absence, I feel it's only proper that I provide an ending for this story, so this will be the final chapter. I want to thank all of you so much for reading this story and especially to those who wrote reviews! I read and appreciated every single one of them. They helped keep me linked to this story and spurred me on to finish it. Thank you for the opportunity! This story has been a labor of love and I've enjoyed every painful minute of it!**

 **PS: I'm dramatic and I love drama, so... yeah... just an FYI**

 **Please read and let me know what you think of the final installment!**

* * *

In the stillness of the early morning, Michonne was aroused from a restless sleep by movements outside of Rick's bedroom. She tracked the careful footsteps past the door and down the stairs. Behind her, Rick shifted slightly and she glanced over to see him fast asleep, his arm wrapped around her waist. Her heart skipped a beat and she smiled in remembrance of last night's events. With a tight chest, she planted a kiss on his lips before easing out of bed, slipping into her jeans, and tiptoeing out of the room. She checked Andre and Carl's room to find one bed empty; Andre was hanging halfway off his bed, snoring loudly with tearstains on his cheeks.

"Oh baby," Michonne gingerly tucked him in, wiping his face as it twitched and grimaced through a dream. It took her back to the early days after escaping Ellory and she pressed her face into the sheets to stifle the sudden onslaught of tears and gasps that escaped her. These were not memories she wanted to resurface and she hoped Andre was not recalling them.

Meeting Carl on that street, coming to Alexandria, becoming a part of the Grimes family... it all worked to help Andre move beyond that trauma... leaving that school had probably saved their lives. She did not want Andre to fall back into the dark place they had been before.

Inhaling sharply, she wiped her eyes and left, checking on Judith before heading to the kitchen where she found Carl searching one of the cabinets while water steamed in a small pot on the stove. Even after spending so much time in Alexandria, it was little things like this that still reminded her of how strange the world had become.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, shaking her out of her revere. Upon entering the kitchen, she quickly located some green tea and offered it to him with a faint smile.

"No, you?"

Carl shrugged and winced, touching his tender shoulder before he placed the teabags in the waiting cups.

"I'm still sore," he admitted. "Plus… Andre was snoring."

Michonne couldn't help but smile as she leaned against the counter, watching bubbles form in the pot. "Yeah… he must be exhausted after last night."

Her strained voice prompted Carl note her red eyes and trembling hands. Without hesitation, he moved over and drew her into an embrace, startling her briefly before she exhaled slowly and wrapped her arms around him.

"He'll be okay," Carl assured her and she nodded, pulling away.

"I know," she breathed. "He's got you to take care of him."

Carl grimaced. "I didn't do anything last night… he protected me." He was surprised when she took his face in her hands, sternly examining him. Under the direct light of the kitchen overheads his bruises were more pronounced and churned her stomach. It reminded her of when they had first encountered him and she hated it.

"Carl-"

"I'm fine," he asserted quickly, offering a smile to soothe her worry. "I'll be fine… Ron didn't hurt me too badly." Her eyes fell upon the side of his face where the burn from Ron's fired gun was red and raised. Michonne's face twisted in anger and she looked up at the ceiling, as if trying to decide whether to go back upstairs.

"I'm just glad you're both safe," she murmured, releasing him and going over to handle the tea.

He watched her for a moment. "Did he tell you what happened? I mean, did he tell you why the fight started?"

His answer came in the form of a blush, creeping across her cheeks as she averted her eyes, watching the pot and nodding slowly.

"Yes, we explained what really happened…" She swallowed hard and looked at him. "Carl-"

"I told Dad last night that I was happy for you and I meant it…" The water rumbled and he went to the stove to turn off the heat, carefully filling the cups with hot water. He smiled to himself, remembering his father's awkwardness the night before and how closely Michonne mirrored it. Their affirmations of love to Andre in the office at Hilltop, the car trip, and her concern just now just cemented his happiness that his parents had finally been able to admit to themselves what had become evident to the others. "We've been a family for a while… it's cool."

She snorted and nudged him. "It's cool? That's all you have to say?"

Carl fixed her with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk. "What am I supposed to say? Thanks for finally sleeping with my dad?"

Michonne's eyes widened and her skin reddened. She opened her mouth to respond, but then thought better of it, instead picking up her tea and moving out of the kitchen.

"I'm gonna check on your brother," she mumbled into her cup, wincing a little when he chuckled after her. Secretly, she was ecstatic that he was so comfortable about the sudden shift in her and Rick's relationship. Her stomach fluttered at the thought as she slowly climbed the stairs.

"Mom?"

Michonne stopped when she saw Andre peeking out of his room. She offered him a smile.

"Hey… did you just wake up?"

He nodded and came out to her, immediately wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her side. Michonne's heart clenched as she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his temple. She caught the tension in his breathing and felt the dampness in his clothes.

"I had a dream of Ellory and the tree," he mumbled into her shirt.

A sharp gasp caused Andre to pull away slightly and look up to see tears pooling in his mother's eyes.

"Baby, I'm sorry." She tenderly pushed the locs out of his bruised face. "You shouldn't have had to go through that."

"Is Ron dead?"

Despite the shocking display of violence last night, Michonne could not conjure the strength to be even slightly worried about that boy. "I don't know." She maneuvered them to the steps and sat down, motioning for him to join her. "Andre, no matter what happens, you need to know that you did nothing wrong, okay?"

Andre looked down at his feet. "I… I don't like hurting people. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"I know. But sometimes, to protect the people that we love, we have to do things, terrible things. It's hard and I know it hurts, but I'm here for you, remember that."

"I know."

"What you did was out of love for your brother, not out of a desire to hurt, and that's important to remember… in this world, sometimes that's all we have to hold onto in times like these." Taking his chin between her fingers, she forced him to look at her. "Andre, remember what Rick said last night?"

He thought for a moment, sniffing softly as his face scrunched up with several emotions. "Yes."

"Good… you protected your family, and that's all that matters," she whispered.

Andre's gaze lowered back to his wiggling toes, still thinking. He thought of Ellory and the people who had hurt his mother… he thought of the men who they had encountered on the road to Washington, and the wanderers who they had invited into the school. Every time, he recalled the conflicting pride and fear in his mother's eyes when she watched him. He knew she wished a peaceful life for him, but it seemed that even in Alexandria, that would not be the case. At least now, she would not bear that burden alone… at least now, he knew she would be okay.

"Alright."

A smile teased her lips and she leaned in to kiss his temple. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Ruffling his hair, Michonne thought of how the rest of the day was likely to go. No one had stopped by yet to deliver news about Ron Anderson's fate, though she suspected even if he had passed in the night, word would not reach them so quickly. But news would get to Alexandria eventually and she had to be prepared for the worst case scenario. Andre's age, his relationship with Rick, Rick's brief affair with Ron's mother, and the connection between the two communities certainly complicated matters.

Michonne wondered if Denise was around. She would definitely talk to her about what had transpired.

"Let's have breakfast," she suggested suddenly, standing up and looking down at her son. "This is gonna be a long day. We shouldn't deal with it on an empty stomach."

Andre's stomach growled and he smiled brightly, thankful to be on a more pleasant topic, at least for the time being. "Pancakes?"

"Of course!"

"Pancakes! I want pancakes!" Judith cried, waddling out of her room over to where they stood. Michonne scooped the child up and kissed her cheeks.

"Let's go make pancakes."

* * *

The morning sun peeked through the blinds in Rick's room, agitating his eyes and prodding him awake as the rays crept through the space. He barely registered the faint laughter as he stirred. All he could initially think about was last night's violence. Of the blood that covered Andre and his tearful reaction. Carl's confession regarding the reason for the fight.

It angered him that both his sons had been hurt by the Anderson boy, forcing Andre to take actions that recalled painful memories of Ellory. The only comfort he took was in his positive response to his and Michonne's coupling. Despite it being a catalyst for the fight, it was also warming to know that they were official in their family status.

But before he could reminisce about that aspect of the night, which seemed now like a distant memory, he detected a lack of heat from Michonne's side of the bed. Shifting around, he found her missing. Giggling filtered under the door and he arose from the bed, searching for his clothes. As he quickly dressed the laughter grew louder, drawing him out of the room, where he checked the kids rooms before heading down the stairs. In the kitchen, he found something extraordinary.

Michonne stood at the stove with Andre, helping the child pour pancakes on the hot griddle while Judith wriggled around in her arms. On the other side of the island, Carl sat laughing and listening to Michonne explain how to make animal-shaped pancakes.

"Andre!" Judith giggled. "Those are circles!"

"I'm trying!" Andre protested while Carl gave the boy a reassuring smile.

"You're fine! We'll eat them," he pointed out and Michonne nodded.

"Just keep an eye on them for a couple of minutes, they should be ready," she explained.

"Can we eat them?" Judith asked in a way that implied she was not so much impatient, as she was skeptical. Andre scowled at the child, prompting Michonne and Carl to break out into peals of laughter.

Rick watched silently, smiling to himself while his family made breakfast.

That thought alone warmed him.

His family…

"Morning everyone," he greeted, drawing their attention away from the stove.

"Dad!"

"Andre, the pancakes!" Michonne yelped, snatching the spatula before it clattered to the floor as Andre abandoned his post for Rick. He slammed into man, nearly knocking him down. Michonne hesitated between going after him, burning breakfast, and juggling an excitable Judith. Carl hurried over and took the spatula out of her hand while gently easing Judith into his arms, grinning knowingly. _Thank you_ , Michonne mouthed, hurrying over to where Rick was steadying himself and prying Andre off of him.

"Hey," Rick chuckled, brushing his locs out of his face as he leaned over to look into the boy's eyes. "How are you feeling?"

Andre hesitated briefly before glancing back at his mother, standing directly behind him, and then offered them both an assuring smile.

"I didn't do anything wrong," he repeated and Michonne sighed.

"Andre, how do you really feel?" she prodded while Rick squatted down in front of him, catching his eyes.

Andre knew they were concerned, but despite his dreams of Ellory, Rick's words from last night and his mother's talk on the steps had gone a long way in alleviating his stress. Nodding, he took Rick's face in both hands and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Sad," he replied honestly.

Rick remained silent for a moment, unable to hide how impressed he was with the child before him. It was obvious Andre was trying to be strong in this situation, given how terrible last night had gone, but Rick could not help but feel a certain level of pride. It was the same pride he felt when he knew Carl was able to survive in this world.

"Come here," he muttered, pulling Andre into a tight hug.

Michonne watched with a smile as Rick finally broke away, standing up while Andre sniffled and reddened. "Ok, why don't you go finish the pancakes," she suggested and he balked.

"Oh no!"

"I've got it," Carl pointed out when Andre ran over to the stove. "It's fine, I have it."

"But those are mine!"

"I'll finish it."

"Carl!"

Ignoring the squabbling, Michonne leaned in and planted a tender kiss on Rick's cheek. "Good morning," she whispered.

He moved and caught her lips, enjoying the brief opportunity to acquaint himself further with her mouth while she giggled.

"Morning," he mumbled, reluctantly pulling away when she gently placed a hand on his chest. "Though I'm hoping next time I don't wake up alone."

She tilted her head quizzically. "Next time?"

Rick raised an eyebrow and offered a crooked grin in a teasing manner that left her heart racing. "Yeah, next time… with your consent, of course."

Michonne warmed under his gaze. "Of course with my consent."

Satisfied with her response, Rick took her hand and moved back into the kitchen. "Right," he exclaimed, catching his sons' attention. "And what is consent?"

To Michonne's surprise, Carl and Andre responded, "A requirement to continue with any action with any person that is not only morally necessary but also enhances any interaction with any person."

Michonne inhaled sharply and a wave of emotions overtook her. "You taught them consent?"

Rick shrugged. "It's an important part of any relationship," he replied, letting go of her to go give Carl and Judith a kiss on the temple. "Morning."

"Morning!" Judith laughed as Carl maneuvered around a grasping Andre to hug his father.

"Ha!" Andre snatched the spatula away and eagerly began pulling the pancakes off of the griddle. Michonne watched them all squawk around the stove for a few moments before she sidled up to the island and nudged Rick.

"We should take him to see Denise, if she's available today," she whispered pointedly.

He nodded. "I was thinking about that…"

"I can hear you!" Andre announced and Michonne fixed him with a look and a hand on the hip.

"Excuse me?"

Andre hesitated and Carl snorted back laughter, earning him the same gaze. Rick hid his own smile as both boys shuffled under Michonne's eyes while Judith simply giggled.

"Before that though," Rick offered. "Why don't we just all have breakfast together."

Michonne's gaze softened and she nodded in agreement. "I like that idea."

Carl and Andre relaxed, quickly attending to the rest of the pancakes. Within minutes, they had the table set and a stack full of pancakes ready to be eaten. A mildly sweet fruit compote was placed next to it in substitute of syrup, which Judith rejected, but the others readily ate. Michonne had brewed some tea, pouring some for herself, Rick, and Carl, while Andre and Judith were satisfied with water.

"Can we give thanks?" Andre interrupted before anyone could take a bite.

"For what?" Carl inquired and Andre motioned around the table.

"We're a family," he replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "A real family…"

Rick and Michonne exchanged blushing glances, reaching across the table to hold hands. "That sounds like the perfect thing to give thanks for," Rick responded softly.

Breakfast continued on as a very light fare. Conversation avoided the Andersons and last night's events, as news had yet to arrive yet of the eldest son's fate. Rick, Michonne, and Carl did their best to keep Andre's mind off of it, engaging him on his mural, the agenda for the day, and enjoying the company of a newly affirmed family. It was a nice reprieve from the night before.

"How are you doing?" Michonne asked, coming up behind Rick as he finished washing dishes. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his back, breathing deeply as he reached out and touched her clasped hands, smiling. Carl and Andre were still arguing at the table over what they were going to do the rest of the day while Judith had moved off into the living room get her coloring books.

"I'm good… this is good."

They stood there, the warmth of their bodies and the snapping of their children providing comfort to two warriors who had spent so long fighting… so long searching for this moment…

Michonne exhaled. "Do you think we'll hear any news today?" she asked so only Rick could hear.

"Probably…" He brought her hand up and pressed his lips to her fingers, breathing deeply. "We'll handle it regardless."

Sighing, Michonne leaned up and kissed the nape of his neck, hiding a smile when he shivered. "Yes we will."

Rick turned around to hold her firmly, running a hand across her cheek gently. He held her gaze, content to get lost in her beautiful brown eyes for the rest of his life. She seemed to have the same thought, taking his chin between her fingers and pulling him down to meet her lips in a soft, languid kiss. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he embraced her as their kiss deepened.

"Ewwww!"

Michonne sighed and pulled away from Rick, offering him a quick wink before turning to the children. "Andre… have you two decided what we're gonna do?"

"Work on the mural," Carl suggested just when a knock sounded at the door.

"Rosita!" Judith announced, waddling out of the living room. Michonne and Rick exchanged glances before Rick gathered up his daughter and let Rosita in.

"Hey," he greeted tensely.

"Hi Rick…" She paused upon seeing Michonne in the kitchen with Andre and Carl. "Oh… hey…"

Andre's face fell immediately and he stood from the table. "He died, didn't he?"

Rosita glanced over at Rick quickly before nodding, causing Michonne to swear and move over to Andre. "Yeah, late last night…" As Carl moved over to his brother, Rosita pulled Rick to the side.

Sitting down in his vacated seat, Michonne ran her hand over Andre's head, watching him carefully. "What are you thinking?"

Andre's bruised face twitched. "I didn't mean to."

"We know, baby, we know."

He shrugged, winced, and then leaned into his mother, wrapping his arms around her tightly while Carl ran a hand up and down his back comfortingly. Michonne's eyes fell on Rick, who was watching her from the door while listening to Rosita.

"Jesus said Jesse was a mess, understandably so, but he said she wouldn't stop talking about Andre." Rosita followed Rick's gaze to the family in the kitchen and she relaxed a bit. She was thankful that the violence of last night had not negatively impacted the family.

"You think she might try something," Rick stated in such a way that it was clear to her that the thought had crossed his mind. Rosita had witnessed the messiness of his and Jesse's separation, if one could call it that, and knew how easily such tragedies could lead people to make desperate mistakes.

"Jesus said she already tried to leave Hilltop… Considering what happened when you two," Rosita stopped herself from continuing, but it was clear to Rick she was worried. "I've notified Sasha and she's warned the wall of what to do if she comes. I just didn't want you to be in the dark, just in case."

Rick nodded, turning back to Rosita as he shifted Judith around in his arms. "Thank you. I know you were hoping to spend some time up at the Hilltop, so thank you for coming back with us."

She shrugged. "Just be careful for the next couple of days," she replied quietly. "And try not to kill anyone else." Nodding her head towards Michonne, Rosita departed without another word.

"Is Ron's mom okay?" Andre asked. "Should I go back-"

"No," Rick cut in, returning to the kitchen and setting Judith down. "No… we shouldn't go up there right now…"

The room fell silent, all eyes on Andre as he processed what had happened. Last night's breakdown was firmly in Michonne's mind as she awaited his response, but she was thankful that he seemed to relax suddenly, relief in his eyes.

"Can we go to the mural?"

Michonne caught Rick's eyes and nodded. "Yeah… let's get dressed first and then we'll go."

Ushering the boys up the stairs, Michonne gently eased Judith into her arms, peering over Rick's face carefully. "Are we okay?"

Leaning in, Rick kissed her deeply, smiling at the soft gasp that escaped her lips under his caress. Judith squirmed, pushing her father away from Michonne as she clung to the woman.

"No!" Judith ordered, causing them both to smile.

"Okay, let's get you out of these PJs," Michonne giggled, shooting Rick a warm glance before she headed up the stairs.

It did not take long for the boys to return, dressed in paint stained clothes and jostling each other in a way that made Rick supremely proud of Carl, who seemed determined to distract Andre and lighten the mood. Michonne reemerged with Judith shortly later, carrying a stuffed animal and Rick's gun belt.

After gathering Andre's paints onto a small toy wagon, they headed out to the wall. They passed Sasha and Abraham as they made their way down the street, exchanging quiet words with the couple while the children moved on ahead.

As Rick and Michonne trailed behind them, their fingers laced together and they lightly bumped into each other, enjoying the freedom to do so.

"He's going to be okay," Rick whispered and Michonne squeezed his hand.

"I know." She stopped, watching Andre at the memorial wall, eagerly pulling out black paint and tugging on Carl's shoulder. Carl hoisted Andre on his shoulders and held him steady as the child slowly began writing 'Ron' under the last Alexandrian who had passed. Judith shimmied out of Michonne's grasp and toddled over to her brothers, shifting through the paints for a bright color to use.

Rick nudged Michonne, catching her attention. "The future definitely looks good to me," he whispered into her ear. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, snaking his arm around her waist and tugging her closer to him. "You were right."

Michonne smiled and leaned into him briefly before leading the way to the children.

They spent the morning at the wall, expanding the mural and getting Andre's mind off of Ron Anderson. Despite their best efforts, Judith's enthusiasm resulting in her spraying Rick and Michonne with paint.

"It needs to dry before we can do the rest," Andre pouted after a couple hours. Their parents' exhaustion was apparent and Carl decided to take control of the situation.

"Hey, why don't we head over to the barn, check on the piglets?" he suggested to Andre, setting down the brushes as they surveyed their progress.

"Oh, yes! Let's do that!" He turned to his mother. "You wanna come?"

Michonne shook her head, smiling. "No, we need to get Judith cleaned up," she replied, shooting Rick a pointed look.

He nodded in agreement, gathering up the rest of the materials and loading them into the wagon. "Why don't you two go ahead and meet up at the house in an hour for lunch?"

Carl and Andre nodded, hurrying down the street while Carol and Morgan approached the wall, examining the work intently.

"I like what he's going for," Carol commented while Morgan chuckled to himself, as if remembering a joke.

"He's talented," Rick agreed, nudging Michonne playfully.

"How's he doing?" Morgan inquired quietly.

"Better than last night… I think the shock's worn off."

"Well, we're here if you need anything," Carol offered, holding up a plate of cookies. "I figured he might want something comforting."

"Oh!" Judith gasped, reaching out for the plate as Michonne took it.

"Thank you, I appreciate it… I know you were close with the boy's brother," she added softly. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologize," Carol cut in quickly, her eyes betraying a conflicted history. "That family…" Her eyes connected with Rick and she sighed. "There were problems even before we arrived here… Rosita told us about Jesse." She motioned towards Morgan. "I'm going up to the Hilltop to check on Sam."

Rick had no interest in convincing her otherwise. He knew how hard it had been on Carol when the Andersons had moved away.

"Tell Maggie and Glenn we're sorry about how things ended last night," he responded. Carol nodded and after shaking hands with Morgan, the two set off towards the vehicle line at the gate while Michonne fussed with Judith over how many cookies she could eat.

"When we get home and after you've had a bath," Michonne insisted as they made their way to the house. As they climbed the porch, she paused briefly when a strange tingle rushed across her back. Instinctively she turned and scanned the street, unsure of what she was looking for. Her grip on Judith tightened. She hated being watched, but nothing grabbed her attention as being out of the ordinary.

"You okay?"

Blinking, she turned to Rick, waiting at the door, and shook her head, following him inside.

"Nothing, just a strange feeling."

Michonne took care of bathing Judith while Rick cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast. Hearing Judith's giggles and Michonne's cooing filter from the bathroom upstairs, Rick smiled to himself. The heaviness of last night and the grim reveal of Ron's fate was still in the back of his mind, but the knowledge that he and his family would be able to move on from it gave him a strange feeling of peace. Knowing what the outcome could have been had Andre not intervened, he sent out a silent 'thanks'.

When he was done with the dishes, he climbed the steps and peeked into Judith's room to find Michonne slipping her into a simple black cotton dress. Other clothes were strewn all over the floor.

"You look so pretty," Michonne gasped while Judith twirled around.

"Are you gonna wear a dress?" Judith asked, tugging on Michonne's stained clothes.

"I don't think I have one, but maybe…" Rick snorted, drawing their attention.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing… just grateful."

Understanding his meaning instantly, Michonne returned the gesture and motioned to the door "Ok, you can one cookie, okay? Take it into the living room and play quietly, okay?"

Judith nodded and Michonne kissed her cheek, letting her toddle towards her dad, who ruffled her wet hair.

"Hold the railing," he called, watching her carefully as she took the stairs one at a time. "Be careful."

Michonne joined him at the door, observing Judith until she disappeared down the stairs. They listened carefully to be sure she made it to the bottom before turning to each other.

"One cookie!" Michonne reminded the girl.

"Okay!" Judith yelled up, clearly already stuffing her mouth full of baked goods.

Reaching up, Michonne ran a hand over his cheek, her lips twisting into a huge grin. "You have green paint in your beard."

He took her hand and pressed his lips to her palm, catching the hitch in her breath as her pupils dilated. "I guess I should go take a shower." Recalling the time he arrived at the house covered in blue paint, Rick smiled, resting her hand against his chest and rubbing her fingers deliberately. "You could join me," he offered huskily and she shivered, but to his disappointment, she shook her head.

"I need to clean up here…" She leaned in and kissed his cheek, closing her eyes when his fingers grazed her breast as he encircled her waist. Their lips brushed lightly, breath mingled, bodies hot. "I'll see you in a bit."

Rick nodded slowly, stealing a kiss before he pulled away reluctantly. "Yeah…"

She watched him go to his room then turned to Judith's bedroom. Sighing, she quickly picked up the clothes left on the floor, her mind wandering to the obvious look in Rick's eyes just now as the memories of their time last night flooded back to her in a pleasurable wave. She carried that feeling with her as she cleaned the room and quickly went down stairs to check on Judith, who was playing with her toys in the living room while munching happily on a cookie. Michonne observed the crumbs around her and guessed with a smile that it was her second one.

No matter. Michonne's mind was still upstairs and after a few seconds of watching Judith, Michonne felt herself drawn back to the second level.

Approaching the door, she knocked. No response.

"Rick?"

Again, no response. Running water filtered under the door and she wondered if he was already in the shower.

"Rick?"

Glancing downstairs briefly, she twisted the knob and was surprised to find it open. She gently closed it behind her and looked around, noting a fresh change of clothes waiting on the bed along with his gun belt and boots. A nice breeze cooled the room through the open window. She rested her katana by the nightstand.

"Rick?"

Nothing.

Michonne went to the bathroom door and listened. The shower was running.

"Rick?"

"Yeah?" His voice was muffled and she contemplated on going in. "Michonne?"

Smiling, she slowly opened the door and peered into the steamy bathroom. The glass shower was fogged up, but it was easy to make out Rick's naked form, the thought of which caused heat tingle her spine and pool in her jeans.

"Rick?"

The little glass door opened and steam poured out, revealing Rick, sopping wet, body glistening, with greenish suds lathered on his beard and hair.

"Hey, I thought I heard your voice, what's up?" When she did not respond immediately, his brows furrowed. "Everything okay?"

Michonne caught herself and offered a faint smile. "I thought I'd take you up on your offer."

His eyes widened briefly before a wicked grin lit up his face and he nodded inside the shower. "Plenty of room," he beckoned, disappearing back into the mist.

Shivering again, Michonne undressed, making sure the bathroom door was locked so that the children could not interrupt them. When she opened the glass door, Rick's back was to her as he rinsed out his hair under the shower. She took a moment, like in the office, to appreciate his body. Reaching out, she ran her fingers along his spine, eliciting a relieved gasp as she outlined the muscles of his back.

Overwhelmed by the urge to be close to him, she slipped her arms around him, pressing her naked form to his and resting her head between his shoulder blades. Rick stopped, his heart leaping in his chest at her action, yet he stifled the urge to simply turn around and make good use of the spacious shower. For a while now he had imagined these scenarios with Michonne, but now to have her hear, he was going to savor it.

"This is good," she murmured, pressing light kisses to his hot skin.

"It is."

To his pleasant surprise, Michonne's hand traveled lower to his penis, brushing it teasingly, his gasps making her giggle into his skin before she grasped him more firmly and slowly ran her fingers along his shaft.

"Fuck, Michonne," he growled, turning around without warning and pulling her into a passionate kiss. His tongue swiped at her full bottom lip and she granted him entry, allowing him to explore and taste her as she did the same. His hips bucked as she continued her ministrations before he grabbed her hands, stopping her and forcing them apart briefly.

Lustful eyes met and Michonne's lips twisted into a seductive smirk. Under the hot jets of water, it was easy to pull out of his grasp and rest her hands on his hips. She licked her lips, drawing his attention to them as she confidently backed him up against the tile and leaned into his ear, loving the feel of his chest against her breasts.

"Don't move."

In a moment he was possessed, unable to do anything but watch as the beautiful black woman before him lowered herself to her knees, running her hands around his ankles before moving up his calves to his thighs, which she pulled to her and kissed lovingly. He quivered at her touch, captivated by the way she caressed him, the way she ran her tongue along his hipbones and up to his naval. She left a trail of light kisses down to his inner thighs, deliberate in avoiding the one place he desired her to touch.

"God, shit!" he gasped out when one of her hands grasped his butt tightly while the other slid along his length and took hold firmly.

Grinning, she watched his eyes flutter shut as she stroked him gently, his body trembling and his hands reaching out to grab something, anything for support. Taking his hand, she guided it to her wet locks, which he grasped firmly while she blew on the head of his penis with a chuckle before licking her lips and swirling her tongue around him.

"Fuck!"

She took him fully into her mouth, slowly beginning to suck him as she pumped his cock with the hand that held him. Michonne could not help but quicken the tempo, the sounds he uttered making her wet with desire. His hips thrust into her mouth and she hummed as she engulfed him.

"Michonne, I'm… I'm…" He could barely get the words out as his legs weakened. "Fuck!"

She coaxed him over the edge and he came in her mouth. Michonne sucked him off as he rode out his orgasm, rubbing his legs and watching his face while he recovered. Without a word, he reached down and yanked her to her feet, pulling her into a knee-weakening kiss.

Tasting himself on her lips, a guttural moan rumbled in Rick's chest as he maneuvered them around so that she was now trapped between his heaving body and the cool tile. She whimpered into his mouth when his hand ran down her neck and cupped her breast, kneading it and flicking her nipple as he slipped his knee between her legs. The pressure against her hot core was tantalizing and she latched onto his shoulders, grinding herself against him while their tongues fought for control. There was no hesitation in their movements now, just a desire to feel each other, love each other, pleasure each other.

"God, I want to be inside you right now," he growled, leaving her lips to trace hot kisses along her neck before latching onto her pert breast, his other hand making a journey down her stomach were his fingers delved into the dark thatch of curls between her legs, along her slick, swollen lips.

"Shit!" She jerked and gasped when he found her clit, massaging it gently at first while he continued to suck, nip, and kiss her breasts. Rolling the bundle of nerves with his thumb, he slowly pushed a finger into her, causing her head to fly back as a strangled sob ripped from her lips. He pumped the finger in and out of her with a deliberation that brought tears to her eyes. The sweetest pain derived from the teasing nature of his movements. When he added another finger, strumming and swirling to the point that she felt she was going to shatter. She pushed against his hand, desperate for more of his touch, pleading for him to go faster.

Eager to please, he increased his tempo, soon thrusting into her so hard and fast that she was crying out his name. He lifted her leg up against his chest to go deeper and she trembled, the pressure coiling in her stomach. He slipped another finger in her and she lost all control.

"RICK!"

The orgasm rocked her body violently and he gathered her up in his arms securely when she crumpled against the wall, clinging weakly to his wet body. He pressed gentle kisses to her face, whispering 'I love you' into her flush skin as she gasped for air.

"You okay?" he asked after a couple of moments and to his delight she giggled.

"Yes… better than okay," she mumbled as he leaned back to look at her.

"Good."

They kissed, softly this time, hearts still beating rapidly as they moved under the shower. They helped each other get clean, gently washing the other's body while continuing to exchange languid kisses and tender touches.

Michonne emerged from the shower first, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself before Rick cut off the water and followed her. He stood by the rack, watching her move to the sink and wipe the mirror so she could see herself. He watched her check her locs for paint, leaning over the counter to check something in her eye, oblivious to him for a few seconds. He took the way her hair fell around her face, dripping down her beautiful back. He memorized the muscles along her arms and legs, the scars, his heart skipping a beat at the knowledge that the radiant black woman before him loved him, desired him, and did not seem to mind his flaws…

Not bothering to put on a towel, he came up behind her and pulled her back to him, burying his face in the crook of her neck as she smiled. Michonne leaned into him, sighing contentedly.

"I should go check on Judith," she muttered, finally turning in his arms and running a hand along his chest. "The boys will be back soon."

Rick nodded, but pressed his body pointedly against hers, smiling when she gasped at the feel of his arousal against her.

"Raincheck?" he asked into her lips and she nodded, a jolt of electricity shooting up her spine as their tongues caressed.

"Raincheck," she replied, resting her hands on his hips. They kissed and she pulled away reluctantly, gathering up her dirty clothes. "I'll meet you downstairs."

His lop-sided grin nearly caused her to shed her towel, but she swallowed the urge and slipped out of the bathroom. She took a moment to compose herself, unable to stop smiling.

Breathing deeply, Michonne headed down to her room to get a fresh change of clothes. As she shimmied off the steps, she glanced into the living room.

"Judith?" The little girl was missing, causing Michonne to pause and venture into the space. "Judith?"

"She's right here."

Michonne whirled around and her body ran cold.

"Jesse…"

In the kitchen, Jesse sat at the table, clutching a terrified Judith close to her; gun on the table and a knife in hand. The blonde woman's eyes were swollen and red, blood still stained her clothes, and her jeans were filthy, giving Michonne an idea of how the woman had snuck into Alexandria.

"You make a noise or move and I'll hurt her," Jesse warned immediately, rendering Michonne mute, though her entire body tingled with a rush of adrenaline.

"My son is dead," her voice strained and agitated. Michonne's lack of surprise only seemed to irritate her more. "I guess you know that… is that why you and Rick are fucking upstairs? To celebrate?"

Michonne cringed at the use of language so close to Judith's ears, but remained silent, analyzing the situation and wishing she had not left her katana upstairs. Save for the towel, she had nothing at her disposal to address the grief-stricken widow. Judith, who looked close to tears, was quiet, as if knowing that crying would only make the situation worse.

"So… where is he?"

Michonne frowned in confusion and Jesse rolled her eyes.

"Your son… where is he?"

Michonne's eyes narrowed dangerously. "He's not here… why don't you let Judith go and we can talk about this calmly," she suggested quietly, but Jesse shook her head, shifting around in her seat and pulling Judith closer to her.

"No… you…" Jesse's face twitched and her eyes swelled with tears. "He's dead… he's dead, my son is dead… your son killed him."

"Yeah… he did… so you're gonna punish Judith for that?"

Jesse breathed in deeply. "No… We're gonna wait here until your little bastard comes home and then I'm gonna punish him."

Michonne's face darkened, but she swallowed back the tirade she wanted to unleash upon the other mother. "Jesse, please let Judith go… she has nothing to do with this. You have a gun, I clearly have nothing. You can hold me hostage until Andre gets here, but please let Judith go." She hoped they ended this before Andre actually returned. This was not a situation the boy needed to be a part of.

"No, I don't think so… _she's your daughter, isn't she_ ," Jesse spat, reminding Michonne of her own biting words at the Hilltop. "Perhaps it'll serve the little bastard right for taking my son away from me-"

Jesse's knife moved closer to Judith and Michonne stepped forward instinctively, her heart slamming against her chest in fright.

"Jesse-"

"I told you not to move!"

Michonne held up her hands and froze, chest heaving as she breathed furiously through her nose, struggling to remain calm when Judith's whimpers reached her ears. If she had the chance, she would rip the woman apart, poor Sam be damned.

"Sorry," she gritted through clenched teeth. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry about Ron-"

"Don't you fucking say his name… don't you say his name!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Michonne caught Rick easing down the stairs, gun in one hand, her katana in the other, half dressed and in fight mode. She resisted the urge to look, keeping her eyes on Jesse.

"Sorry… I really am sorry… no mother should have to watch her child die."

Jesse snorted, swiping furiously at the tears in her eyes as she shifted again in her seat. "Yeah, well, you'll know what that's like soon enough."

Michonne's body coiled with the desire to attack, to save Judith and kill the blonde woman before her, but she violently resisted the urge. "Jesse, I think this can be resolved without more bloodshed… no one else has to die, especially no more children."

Noises outside stopped Jesse from responding. Andre's laughter caused Michonne to gasp, but Jesse's grip on Judith tightened as her head turned to the door. Michonne shot a look at Rick, who raised her katana for her to catch just when the door opened.

"Mom!" Andre called as Rick tossed her the blade.

"GET DOWN!"

"NO!"

Three shots were fired, two bodies hit the ground.

"Judith!" Michonne pulled the wailing child out of Jesse's grasp as the woman clutched her chest, spewing blood and gasping for air. "Are you okay?" She examined the child swiftly, terrified that Jesse's knife may have nicked something when she collapsed to the ground.

"DAD!"

Michonne turned to see Carl huddled over Rick, lying face down on the ground on top of Andre, who was struggling to get out from beneath him.

"RICK!"

Scrambling over to them, she heled Carl turn Rick over and Andre sat up, grabbing his father's arm as tears streamed down his face.

"Rick! RICK!"

"DADDY!" Judith screeched, causing Rick to cringe and cough.

"I'm alive," he managed, wincing and twisting so that they could see the bullet wound in his side. "I'm fine…"

"Oh God," Carl gasped, looking closer at his side. "It looks bad."

"Is he gonna be okay?" Andre demanded and Rick snorted, reaching out to take his hand.

"Yeah, I'm gonna make it… ain't the first time I've been shot," he reminded them, his eyes catching Michonne's tear-filled eyes. "I'm okay."

"Rick," she whimpered. "We need to get you to the-"

"Rick!" Jesse cried from her spot on the kitchen floor. "That… he killed my son!"

Andre moved to go over to her, but Michonne and Carl stopped him.

"Don't," Michonne advised. "Carl, go get help."

Carl exchanged glances with his father before he grabbed the gun Jesse had dropped and left the house. Rick motioned to Michonne to help him. Setting Judith down next to Andre, Michonne slowly got Rick to his feet and they approached Jesse, still struggling to breath with the blood pouring out of her wounds.

"Jesse," Rick breathed, closing his eyes and grasping his side at the pain shooting across his stomach. Michonne's grip on him tightened and he offered her an assuring nod before turning back to the widow on the floor. "Jesse, I'm sorry…" Her eyes opened and he shook his head. "I'm sorry about Ron, I really am… but this is my family, and he attacked my sons… you shouldn't've come here."

"They're in here," Carl instructed, leading Sasha, Abraham, and Rosita into the home.

"Shit," Rosita hissed, hurrying to Rick's other side while Sasha checked on Jesse. "How did she get in?"

"The sewer," Michonne replied, motioning to Jesse's jeans. "I'm guessing through the sewer."

"Jesus Christ," Abraham muttered. "Rick, you okay?"

Rick nodded. "Help her, I'll live."

Michonne frowned. "You're still bleeding."

"Take care of her first," he insisted, moving out of the way so that Abraham could carry Jesse out of the house. "I'm-"

He wobbled and then collapsed.

"RICK!"

* * *

For several hours they waited out on the porch of Denise's home, quietly waiting for news on Rick's condition. Michonne held Judith in her arms while Carl and Andre sat on either side of her, leaning against her; Andre in fitful slumber and Carl in worried anticipation. Jesse passed before Abraham could reach the infirmary, leaving him and Sasha with the unpleasant task of conveying that message to Sam Anderson at the Hilltop.

Other Alexandrians had gathered with the Grimes family in support, providing them with a sense of calm after a terrifying moment.

"Michonne?" Tara whispered, emerging from the infirmary, causing everyone to stand suddenly. Holding up her hands, Tara offered them a smile. "He's fine, Denise patched him up and he's gonna be fine." Motioning behind her, she looked directly at Michonne. "Denise wanted to talk to you first. Rosita, you too."

Rosita's eyes widened, but she quietly went inside while Michonne gave the kids quick kisses before trailing behind, leaving them to wait outside impatiently with Tara.

They went into the back room to find Denise speaking quietly with Rick. The man's torso was heavily bandaged and his skin was sweaty and pale, but for the most part he looked better than before.

"Hey," he greeted with a wane smile, holding out his hand for Michonne while Rosita leaned against the wall. "I'm okay."

"He'll live," Denise assured them, giving the stoic Rosita a nudge. "He just needs to rest for the next few days so that the wound can heal properly… I'm gonna need you two to help me with that."

Rosita inhaled sharply, shaking her head with obvious guilt. "Rick, I'm so sorry, I should have-"

"Don't do that," he interrupted, tearing his eyes away from Michonne to look at his friend. "I'm alive… the kids are alive."

"But I should have remembered the sewer," Rosita insisted. "You could have died. Jesus, _Judith_ -"

"I'm leaving you in charge Alexandria," he wheezed and Rosita's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Rick, this all happened-"

"This happened because we all became complacent," he interjected. "I know you Rosita. You won't let it happen again. I trust you… plus, you have Michonne, who I'm sure will do everything in her power to keep me in bed until the end of time."

"Damn right," Michonne muttered.

Denise chuckled and motioned to the door. "We'll talk outside," she suggested to Rosita, glancing at Rick. "Get some rest."

"Thank you," Michonne called and waited for the women to leave. For a moment she just stood by this bed, staring at Rick, unsure of how to approach the situation. He seemed more prepared.

"I guess it'll be a while before we can cash that raincheck," he muttered and she snorted.

"That's not funny," she snapped, despite his chortles. "Rick!"

"Sorry… I figured a little levity would help offset the shitty twenty-four hours we've had," he breathed, watching as she approached his bedside and sat in the small metal chair next to it. She slowly removed her katana and set it down in the corner, taking deep breath as she looked back at him. He could see how upset she was and he desperately wanted to take that away from her.

"I'm fine," he attempted but she was having none of it.

"Rick, you almost died," she started before turning her gaze down to her hands. "I don't want to lose you."

Rick watched her for a moment, his heart swelling with passion for the beautiful, suffering woman who sat beside him.

"Michonne," he began, tilting his head to catch her eyes. When she looked at him, her breath hitched in her throat and her heart clenched at what she saw when she gazed into his blue piercing orbs. "I... I would die for you… for Carl, for Judith, for Andre, for all of you," he proclaimed softly, his voice thick with the conviction of a man in love. Her body stilled when he reached out to take her hand gently in his, fingers instinctively interlacing as their breathing quickened.

Rick saw the same emotions he felt bubble up in her eyes and she leaned in to kiss him. She held him carefully to her, eyes welling with tears that rolled silently down her face as he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. For the first time since waking up, Rick relaxed in her embrace.

That feeling was short-lived and he watched in dismay when she pulled away, grabbing her katana before heading resolutely for the door.

"You're just gonna leave?" He heard himself ask hoarsely and she turned around, as if surprised by his question.

"Leave?" Realizing he had misread her unconscious actions, she offered him a smile and chuckle that aroused every fiber of his aching being. "I'm gonna go get the kids… and go get a better chair," she admitted timidly, motioning to the one she had been sitting in. "If I'm gonna stay the night looking after you, I'm gonna need a better chair to sleep in."

Rick's eyes brightened significantly and despite the overwhelming pain that coursed through his body, he returned her gesture with a crooked grin. "You don't have to sleep in the chair," he drawled, cheekily patting the bed he was in.

Michonne felt her cheeks warm under his gaze and she quickly slipped out of the room into the hallway to find Rosita, Carl, Andre, and Judith waiting in the main room. Rosita and Carl were now helping Denise and Tara reorganize materials while Andre kept Judith occupied with a children's book in the corner. They looked up to see her enter the area and the younger ones immediately crowded around her.

"Is he okay?" Andre demanded once again, tears brimming in his eyes.

Michonne picked Judith up and wiped his face, leaning down to plant a kiss on his temple before she motioned to Carl. "I'm gonna watch him tonight," she informed them. "Come on." Michonne led the way back to the little side room Rick was resting in. The children gasped at seeing bandaged and bruised he was

"Dad," Carl gasped, but it was Andre's reaction that broke his mother.

Both Carl and Michonne were shocked when the child ran over and fell against Rick, clutching him tightly and sobbing uncontrollably into his chest.

"Andre!" Michonne started, moving to grab him when she saw Rick's body seize up momentarily in pain from the impact. Rick's small wave stopped her as he gritted his teeth and took a deep, haggard breath. Wrapping his arms around Andre, he listened as the boy repeatedly apologized into his shirt, tormented by the knowledge that Rick was in this position only due to trying to save him.

"Shhhh," he attempted to soothe. "It's okay, Andre, it's okay... this isn't your fault, don't apologize." The boy mumbled something into Rick's shirt and he shook his head, pulling the boy tighter to him. "You're not a problem," he persisted. "Andre... Andre, look at me..." The child leaned back on the bed, sniffling harshly and wiping his nose. "What happened with the Andersons wasn't your fault, you didn't make Ron do what he did, same with Jesse... same with Ellory. You don't make people do bad things, okay? _You're not a problem_." Andre released another sob and hugged Rick again. Michonne and Carl watched as the man consoled the child, unable to hear Andre as he continued to babble incoherently into Rick's chest. Rick listened to Andre's muttering quietly until he said something that caused the man to pause and look up at Carl and Michonne. He smoothed out Andre's hair and smiled tenderly at the other two. "I love you too, Andre."

Michonne reached out for Carl, who instantly took her hand, unable to hold back tears of his own. Michonne took several deep breaths before she swiped furiously at her face and stepped forward, allowing Judith to grasp her father.

"Andre, baby, you're gonna pull out his stitches," she gasped while Carl moved around to give his father a quick hug. She squatted down next to Andre, who was still struggling to stop crying and she kissed his cheeks lovingly. "Baby, he's okay," she assured him. "And you can come see him first thing tomorrow morning."

"Really?" He garbled and Rick patted him on the shoulder.

"The moment I wake up," he promised, glancing over at Carl. "You too."

"Okay," Andre acquiesced while Michonne straightened up, catching Carl's eyes.

"Why don't you take them home," she suggested and Carl nodded, picking up Judith and steering Andre towards the door.

"Good night, Dad," Carl whispered, nudging an embarrassed Andre, who jolted slightly and waved at Rick and Michonne.

"Good night, Mom... good night, Dad," he added quickly before he shot out of the room with Carl closely behind him. Michonne went to the door and gently closed it.

"I thought you were going to get a comfortable chair," Rick commented, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Silently she walked over to him, gently kicking the side of the bed with a distant look on her face. Sitting back down in the chair, she took his hand and pressed it to her lips.

"God, I hope this is over," she whispered into his skin. "That poor child."

Rick sighed. "If I had done better at handling Jesse-"

"Don't." Their eyes met and he saw the exhaustion written all over her face. Realizing how trying such a whiplash inducing day it had been for her, Rick nodded. The conversation about the Andersons would wait.

"I love you," he murmured, squeezing her hand as much as he could. "I love you a lot."

"I love you too… move over," she instructed and he snorted, slowly doing as he was told to make some room for her. She eased onto the bed and they shifted around so that they were lying down.

"Turn around," he quipped softly as he tried to turn to face her back, resting his hand on her hip in an attempt to maneuver her.

Frowning, she shook her head, trying to ignore the way her body reacted to his touch. "Rick," she chided, clearly concerned that he was going to overexert himself.

While the very feeling of having Michonne in his arms put ideas into his head, there was only one thing he wanted. "Michonne," he whispered huskily into her ear, causing her eyes to close momentarily and giving him a brief opportunity to just admire her face, her skin, her eyes, her nose, her lips... he longed to kiss those lips... "Michonne," he tried again and she looked up at him, holding her breath as he reached out to brush his fingers across her cheek. "I just want to hold you..."

For the briefest of seconds, Ellory flashed across her mind, his elaborate overtures and forwardness running counter to Rick's more traditional passion. In every word known to man, Ellory had declared a love that proved false and had turned quickly to ashes as soon as it had been consummated. In every action and in as few raw words as possible, Rick expressed something authentic. Something beautiful. Something deeper.

Taking the hand that caressed her cheek, she leaned up and brushed her lips softly against his, sending a shock of excitement through their bodies. They lay there intimately for a minute, breath mingling, foreheads resting against each other as they enjoyed the brief moment of relief from the horror and pain that had taken place just hours earlier.

Michonne smiled against his lips and then turned around, pressing her back against his chest as he gingerly pulled her towards him, breathing in her intoxicating scent as they finally nestled down into the bed. They silently listened to each other breathe, their hearts slowing together as exhaustion quickly overwhelmed them. They fell asleep in each other's arms, assured more than ever in their future. Assured more than ever in their family. Assured more than ever in each other.

* * *

A roll of thunder roused Michonne from her sleep and she instinctively reached for her katana as she blinked into the darkness. Listening intently, she heard shifting from outside the door before a flash of lighting illuminated the room. Beside her, Rick snored softly, shifting gingerly in his sleep.

Smiling, Michonne kissed him before slipping out of the bed and quietly out the door. Upstairs, she heard more shifting and wondered if it was just Denise and Tara she heard, but as she moved further into the main infirmary, she saw Andre and Judith sleeping in one of the beds, causing her to exhale in relief. She moved over and pulled the covers more tightly around them, observing them sleep for a while before a shadow outside grabbed her attention.

She peeked through the door to find Carl sitting in one of the rocking chairs, gun in his lap as he read something under the porchlight.

"I thought I told you all to go home," she commented, coming outside and sitting beside him, just out of reach of the falling rain.

"They wanted to stay close." Catching her raised brow, he shrugged. "I did too."

Michonne smiled. "Good… I'm glad you're here."

They fell into a peaceful silence, Michonne watching the thunderstorm while Carl returned to his book. Cracks of lightning occasionally illuminated the safe zone, somehow a comforting sight after such a crazy couple of days. When Michonne reached over to look at the cover, Carl raised it for her to see.

 _Their Eyes Were Watching God_

"You still haven't finished it?"

Carl paused, trying to think back to when he had begun reading the book.

"I found it with Ron," he muttered. "He kept saying it couldn't be better than _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_ … I figured I'd finish this and find out for myself."

Michonne recalled finding the book in his backpack when they found him months ago in the street. Remembering the tense first days together, it suddenly warmed her heart that they had arrived to this place. As the lightning flashed again, she could not help but wonder if she and Andre would have survived much longer in the school, watching days go by in the growing loneliness.

"Not the same as the view from the principal's office," Carl commented, having seen the distant look in Michonne's eyes.

"No… still beautiful, but better…"

Carl grinned and went back to reading. Michonne pulled her knees up to her chest and rocked gently in the chair, closing her eyes as the strong winds cooled her face and calmed her spirit. When Rick was better, she determined that they would recreate that night, with a dinner of mac and cheese and hopefully an amusingly tense game of Monopoly.

"Carl."

"Yeah?" He looked up from his book expectantly and her heart clenched.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything… for reminding me that community is important, for getting us here… for," she paused, motioning into the house pointedly and he nodded, understanding her meaning. "For getting _me_ here. Thank you."

Carl nodded somewhat sagely and she could not help but laugh to herself as she got up to go back inside.

"Love you," she whispered.

"Love you, too."

Michonne stopped at the door and smiled at Carl. He smiled back.

"Goodnight, love."

Carl's eyes swelled with tears, but he said nothing as she went inside. Turning to the storm just beyond the porch, he sent up a silent word of thanks before sniffing and returning to his book.

"Goodnight, mom."

* * *

 **In loving memory of Carl Grimes.**


End file.
